NickyJ
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How parents deal with drugs and kids. Issue date: 18-JUL-2005
James Cook University's Associate Professor Kim Usher is part of a research team investigating how parents deal with a child who has a drugs problem.
"Deaths from drug overdoses in young people have rapidly increased in the past few year," Associate Professor Usher said today.
"The growing use of recreational drugs and their association with co-morbidities means specifically designed family interventions and support are urgently needed.
"This project will be one of the first to understand drug dependency from a parent's point of view, and the findings will be used to develop better support services and interventions for both children and their parents," she said.
"We want to focus on the strengths of families, and how they may have used their strengths for positive growth and development, rather than simply labelling families dysfunctional, which tends to happen in the community."
Associate Professor Usher, who is head of the School of Nursing at JCU, said she was keen to hear from parents of adolescents with a history of drug abuse - particularly from Townsville, Cairns and Mt Isa and rural areas.
"They can contact me on 1800 888975 at JCUs School of Nursing," she said.
The research project is being conducted in collaboration with Professors Louise O'Brien and Debra Jackson from the University of Western Sydney and will take 12 months.
Associate Professor O'Brien said that children and young people have greater access to drugs than ever before.
"Recent evidence suggests the vast majority of young Australians have ingested at least one substance by the age of 17 years, and there is increasing drug experimentation among 14 to 18 year olds," she said.
"While many adolescents may experiment with various substances without developing any major problems, some young people will move beyond experimentation and begin to engage in harmful patterns of drug use.
"It's a major worry for parents, given the growing evidence of links between substance misuse in children and adolescents and mental health problems, such as anxiety and mood disorders, borderline personality disorders, antisocial behaviour, conduct disorders and schizophrenia."
Professor O'Brien says our attempts to tackle the issue of drug dependency in young people have ignored the experiences of parents.
"The majority of research literature to date doesn't acknowledge or address parents, nor does it position health problems related to drug use within the context of the family," says Professor O'Brien.
"It's impractical to think intervention can be given outside of the family structure and without regard for family relationships.
"We want to gain a better insight into the lives of parents who have been through the experience of having children who've developed a problem with drugs.
"As family health researchers we know mothers are concerned about the emotional and mental health of their children, but they find it difficult to gain knowledge about services and accessing effective help.
"Because of this lack of support, they struggle to cope with resistance from the young person to seek help, and deal with the embarrassment, stigma and shame."
The researchers are looking for parents of adolescents or young adults who have an established pattern of substance abuse and are willing to be interviewed.
Contact: Associate Professor Kim Usher 07 4781 4261 or Jim OBrien, JCU Media Liaison 07 4781 4822, 0418892449
From here
James Cook University's Associate Professor Kim Usher is part of a research team investigating how parents deal with a child who has a drugs problem.
"Deaths from drug overdoses in young people have rapidly increased in the past few year," Associate Professor Usher said today.
"The growing use of recreational drugs and their association with co-morbidities means specifically designed family interventions and support are urgently needed.
"This project will be one of the first to understand drug dependency from a parent's point of view, and the findings will be used to develop better support services and interventions for both children and their parents," she said.
"We want to focus on the strengths of families, and how they may have used their strengths for positive growth and development, rather than simply labelling families dysfunctional, which tends to happen in the community."
Associate Professor Usher, who is head of the School of Nursing at JCU, said she was keen to hear from parents of adolescents with a history of drug abuse - particularly from Townsville, Cairns and Mt Isa and rural areas.
"They can contact me on 1800 888975 at JCUs School of Nursing," she said.
The research project is being conducted in collaboration with Professors Louise O'Brien and Debra Jackson from the University of Western Sydney and will take 12 months.
Associate Professor O'Brien said that children and young people have greater access to drugs than ever before.
"Recent evidence suggests the vast majority of young Australians have ingested at least one substance by the age of 17 years, and there is increasing drug experimentation among 14 to 18 year olds," she said.
"While many adolescents may experiment with various substances without developing any major problems, some young people will move beyond experimentation and begin to engage in harmful patterns of drug use.
"It's a major worry for parents, given the growing evidence of links between substance misuse in children and adolescents and mental health problems, such as anxiety and mood disorders, borderline personality disorders, antisocial behaviour, conduct disorders and schizophrenia."
Professor O'Brien says our attempts to tackle the issue of drug dependency in young people have ignored the experiences of parents.
"The majority of research literature to date doesn't acknowledge or address parents, nor does it position health problems related to drug use within the context of the family," says Professor O'Brien.
"It's impractical to think intervention can be given outside of the family structure and without regard for family relationships.
"We want to gain a better insight into the lives of parents who have been through the experience of having children who've developed a problem with drugs.
"As family health researchers we know mothers are concerned about the emotional and mental health of their children, but they find it difficult to gain knowledge about services and accessing effective help.
"Because of this lack of support, they struggle to cope with resistance from the young person to seek help, and deal with the embarrassment, stigma and shame."
The researchers are looking for parents of adolescents or young adults who have an established pattern of substance abuse and are willing to be interviewed.
Contact: Associate Professor Kim Usher 07 4781 4261 or Jim OBrien, JCU Media Liaison 07 4781 4822, 0418892449
From here
