Mothers’ experiences of coping with adolescent substance abuse: a phenomenological inquiry

Abstract

Background and study aim: Adolescent substance abuse significantly impacts on the lives of mothers. This paper explores the coping responses of mothers whose adolescents have been admitted to treatment for substance abuse. Design and method: A multiple case study design was adopted and the data were collected through one-on-one interviews facilitated by the Lifegrid. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to interrogate the data. Results: Coping emerged as a complex construct in our analysis. The mothers’ used problem-focused and emotion-focused coping in different combinations of withdrawing, tolerating and engaged coping responses. The mothers’ coping responses were also influenced by individual and relational factors like subjective distress and the mother–adolescent relationship. Conclusions: We argue that research and practice initiatives should consider using a multidimensional perspective of parental coping that recognises the heterogeneity of mothers’ coping responses. Impact statement: The current paper offers new insights into the complexities of mothers’ coping responses to adolescent substance abuse.

Keywords:

• adolescent drug abuse
• mothers
• parents
• coping
• experiences
• phenomenology
• qualitative

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the substance abuse treatment centres and staff that were part of this study, as well as the study participants and their families. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the authors and are not to be attributed to the CoE in Human Development.

Additional information

Funding

The support of the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Human Development at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in the Republic of South Africa towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the authors and are not to be attributed to the CoE in Human Development.