The Leisure of Women Caring for People Harmfully Involved With Alcohol, Drugs, and Gambling

Abstract

The health of family and friends affected by another person's substance use and/or gambling is an undervalued health issue. These relationships are rarely explored as caregiving. Research on caregivers suggests leisure is important for improving, maintaining, and protecting their health. Guided by feminist social constructionism, this article explores how women caring for people harmfully involved with alcohol, drugs and/or gambling experience leisure in Nova Scotia, Canada. Data were collected from ten women though semistructured interviews. Examples of caregiving are provided. Three themes demonstrate the results: loss of leisure, negotiation of leisure, and leisure as escape. Understanding the women's experience of leisure in this caregiving relationship has important implications for their health.

Keywords:

• Addiction
• caregiving
• family
• leisure
• women