The Vision Project

FAMILIES,
DRUGS,
ALCOHOL
AND
SOCIAL
EXCLUSION
WRITTEN BY VIVIENNE EVANS
Vivienne is the Chief Executive of Adfam, a national charity working to improve life for families affected by
drugs or alcohol.
“The public
perception
of families
affected by drug
and alcohol
use requires a
cultural shift.”
Adfam has been listening to the
experiences of families affected by
substance misuse for over 30 years. Over
and over, we have heard stories of the
stress, anxiety, physical ill health and
financial burdens that caring for – or
just being in the orbit – of someone with
an addiction can cause for a so-called
‘affected other’...
‘When I was a young mother I never thought I
would spend 35 years of my life fighting dealers
and the drugs, lying to my neighbours, stripped of
my dignity, having lost everything.’
Research bears out this personal evidence: the
impact of living with a family member who has a
drug/alcohol problem can be devastating.
There is a social side to this too; family
celebrations can be a nightmare – the fear of
embarrassment and humiliation because of a
loved one’s inappropriate behaviour – or the stress
of avoiding or having to answer difficult questions
– is ever present.
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And then there is social exclusion. This is a term
defined as exclusion from the prevailing social
system and its rights and privileges, typically
as a result of poverty or the fact of belonging
to a minority social group. But family members
affected by substance misuse are not members
of a minority social group. In fact, UK Drug Policy
Commission research suggests a minimum of 1.5
million people are affected by someone else’s drug
use. Other studies have indicated this number is up
to 8 million.
The social exclusion which families experience
is rooted in the stigmatising effect attitudes in
society can have on people affected by someone
else’s substance misuse. The definition of stigma
is a mark of disgrace or infamy; a sign of severe
censure or condemnation, regarded as impressed
on a person or thing; a ‘brand’. Culture and
language – often displayed in the media – can
define a user, rather than the addiction itself and
this can apply to family members too, resulting
in them not speaking about their situations, not
seeking help and support for themselves, and
consequentially feeling isolated and socially
excluded.
“Stigma for me meant being treated differently
once people knew of my son’s drug use.”
“...because there’s a drug user or an alcoholic
in the family, a lot of services think the whole
family’s the same so you’re all judged on that
person’s behaviour or that person’s lifestyle.”
Stigma and drug use have been associated for
a long time. They have also been popular topics
of debate in recent years and the focus of a
growing body of research. But in the same way
that families have often been absent in other drug
policy discussions, their perspective on stigma is
much less widely researched. Often, regardless
of their own behaviour, families find themselves
defined by the ‘addict’ label attributed to their
drug using relatives.
Those affected by someone else’s addiction are
living double lives; they live in a silent struggle that
very few know about for fear of being judged.
As well as this externally imposed ‘stigma by
association’, the high levels of guilt and selfblame
experienced by the families of drug and
alcohol users, particularly parents who believe that
the upbringing they provided is responsible for
the substance misuse, mean that some families
effectively stigmatise themselves through feelings
of guilt and low self-worth.
Stigma can cause social exclusion, and so can
poverty. Many families experience financial
hardship due to supporting a loved one with an
addiction. This can be particularly true for kin
carers – family members who take on the care
of children because their birth parents have a
substance misuse problem. There are an estimated
200,000 children and young people in kinship
care and over 50% of these cases are as a result
of substance misuse. These kin carers receive a
negligible amount of allowances and benefits in
comparison to foster carers, something we are
supporting a campaign to change.
THE VISION PROJECT