Background
The impact of addiction extends beyond the individual using a substance. Caring for an individual with addiction creates persistent stressful circumstances that cause worry, anger, depression, shame, guilt, anxiety, and behavioral problems within the family unit.
The aim of the study
The paper aims to explore the experiences of caring for a relative with a substance use disorder (SUD) and self-care strategies caregivers employ.
Methods
The study adopted an exploratory qualitative design. To be included in the study, participants were required to have a relative with a (SUD) disorder and not be actively using the substance themselves. Individual interviews were conducted to gather their experiences, meanings, and how they made sense of caring for a relative with a SUD.
Results
Twenty one participants were involved in the study, of which 17 were women, and four were men of which there had a sister, four had a brother, eight had a parent, six had a dependent, and one participant had a grandparent with a SUD. Four themes, whose overarching focus is the pains of living and caring for a family with a SUD, caused the participants and how the participants mitigated these experiences
Conclusion
The stress associated with caring for individuals with a SUD impacts the caregiver’s physical and mental health. Specific care modalities targeting caregivers need to be developed to address the health impact and to support self-care.
The purpose of the paper is to describe our peer mentorship experiences and explain how these experiences fostered transformational learning during our PhD graduate program in educational administration. As a literature backdrop, we discuss characteristics of traditional forms of mentorship and depict how our experiences of peer mentorship was unique. Through narrative inquiry, we present personal data and apply concepts of transformational learning theory to analyze our experiences. Our key finding was that it was the ambiguous boundaries combined with the formal structure of our graduate program that created an environment where peer mentorship thrived. We conclude that peer mentorship has great capacity to foster human and social capital within graduate programs for both local and international students.
Background
Growing up in an environment where substance use is prevalent creates a climate for adverse childhood experiences. These experiences can contribute to mental and psychological problems later in life.
Methods
This study used an exploratory study design to explore the experiences of individuals whose upbringing was influenced by substance use at home or who had parents with addiction problems.
Results
Four themes shaped the participants' lives: (1) impact of substance use at home on children; (2) school influences on substance use; (3) aggravating traumatic life experiences, and d) rebuilding a battered life.
Conclusion
Growing up in homes with addictions created an environment for traumatic events and encounters. Participants adopted diverse strategies to cope with these experiences, such as leaving home, using substances early in life, and dropping out of school.
Screening and intervention for childhood trauma should be encouraged both in schools and community health settings. Such interventions can reduce substance use among school children to deal with ensuing trauma.
This article presents a proposed holistic Framework for Exploring Adolescent Wellness specific to the discipline of nursing. Conceptualized as a practical adolescent wellness assessment tool, the framework attends to the physical, spiritual, psychological and social dimensions of adolescent health. Through the discussion of a reconstructed case study the framework's application to nursing practice is illustrated. Nurses are distinctly positioned to promote adolescent wellness. This approach facilitates the exploration of the multiple influences on the health of adolescents, across a variety of clinical practice specialties and settings, by nurses of varying experiences.
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