The role of the family in preventing and intervening with substance use and misuse: a comprehensive review of family interventions, with a focus on young people

Abstract

The family plays a key part in both preventing and intervening with substance use and misuse, both through inducing risk, and/or encouraging and promoting protection and resilience. This review examines a number of family processes and structures that have been associated with young people commencing substance use and later misuse, and concludes that there is significant evidence for family involvement in young people's taking up, and later misusing, substances. Given this family involvement, the review explores and appraises interventions aimed at using the family to prevent substance use and misuse amongst young people. The review concludes that there is a dearth of methodologically highly sound research in this area, but the research that has been conducted does suggest strongly that the family can have a central role in preventing substance use and later misuse amongst young people.

Additive and subtractive resilience strategies as enablers of biographical reinvention: A qualitative study of ex-smokers and never-smokers

“…Most research on resilience has focused on particular groups who have experienced particular trauma, for example during childhood (Castro, Garfinkle, Naranjo, Rollins, Brook, & Brook, 2007;Ireland, Weisbart, Dubowitz, Rowe, & Stein, 2010;Tercyak, Donze, Prahlad, Mosher, & Shad, 2006) and adolescence (Ali, Dwyer, Vanner, & Lopez, 2010;Brown, 2001;Velleman, Templeton, & Copello, 2005). However, while extremely important, this work has limited applicability for understanding resilience (and developing appropriate policy responses) across wider communities.…”

Parent–child connectedness and communication in relation to alcohol, tobacco and drug use in adolescence: An integrative review of the literature

“…Many factors have been identified which influence the likelihood that adolescents will use substances (Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992). Family and parenting factors receive a great deal of attention in this literature (Velleman, Templeton, & Copello, 2005;Velleman & Templeton, 2007;Velleman, 2009). Parent-child connectedness (PCC) and communication have been highlighted as potential protective factors against substance use and misuse in adolescence.…”

Consommer la cigarette, le cannabis à l’adolescence : quête identitaire et vulnérabilité dans le parcours de consommation

“…Consommer la cigarette ou le cannabis traduit une volonté de l'adolescent de se construire une identité à distance du système normatif parental (Buelga & Mutsitu, 2006). Même si l'influence du groupe de pairs est à l'origine des premiers essais de substances psychoactives, la famille demeure primordiale dans sa façon d'endiguer ou de favoriser l'influence des pairs (Velleman, Templeton & Copello, 2005). Dès lors, la notion de vulnérabilité fait appel ici à la responsabilité éducative des parents et elle interroge les pratiques parentales.…”