Influences on how children and young people learn about and behave towards alcohol:a review of the literature for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (part two)

How families, friends, and advertising and the media influence the ways children and young people learn about and behave towards alcohol. The often excessive use of alcohol by young people is a major concern for policy-makers, communities, parents and many young people themselves. This excessive use of alcohol does not suddenly occur. By the time they start to drink alcohol, children have well-developed attitudes, expectations, and intentions about alcohol, acquired and developed through a process of socialisation. This report looks in detail at the influences on children and the effect these have on their alcohol use. The report examines: • key family processes and structures which influence the development of knowledge, attitudes and subsequent behaviour; • processes of peer selection and mutual influence; • the influence of marketing and cultural representations of alcohol; • other major forces such as country, ethnicity and race, religion, school, community, socio-economic status, and other cultural factors

‘I no longer know that person’: Experiences of families living with someone using crystal methamphetamine

BackgroundCrystal methamphetamine (‘ice’) use is a large and growing worldwide problem, yet few research studies have explored the impact of crystal methamphetamine use on affected friends and family members. We explored the experiences and narratives of family members and friends of people who use methamphetamine to inform the development of a Family and Friend Support Program.MethodsThis paper reports on a subset of findings from a mixed method study, which sought to better understand the experiences of family members and friends of people who use methamphetamine. Participants were recruited via Facebook advertising and asked to complete a survey outlining their experiences. At the end of the survey, participants were invited to be interviewed by a clinical psychologist on the research team, to discuss their experiences in greater depth; seventeen people agreed to be interviewed. This paper is based on a qualitative thematic analysis of these interviews using Braun and Clarke’s 6-stage approach to identify key areas of concern for friends and family members of people who use methamphetamine.ResultsThrough thematic analysis, five key themes were developed, namely: (1) loss, (2) stigma, (3) support (or lack thereof), (4) ways of coping, and (5) the value in sharing personal experiences. The results of this study revealed the profound sadness, frustration and loss friends and family members experienced when caring for a loved one who uses methamphetamine. This loss was further complicated by societal stigma surrounding the use of methamphetamine, which often extended to friends and family members themselves. Since experiences of grief and loss were interwoven across the three themes, concepts of ambiguous loss, disenfranchised grief, and narrative constructivist approaches to understanding loss, were applied to the discussion of results.ConclusionThis study provides a more complete picture of family and caregiver experiences when caring for a loved one using methamphetamine, which may further help inform the design of intervention programs. Implications for future research and practice with this population are considered