Residential Care and Substance Misuse: Exploring the relationship

1
Residential Care and Substance Misuse Exploring
the relationship

• Michael Murphy and Sarah Ingram
• University of Salford
• M.Murphy_at_salford.ac.uk
• Tel [phone]

2
Purpose of Research

• A qualitative piece of research that explored the
  family experience, attitude towards, and use of,
  substances by children in residential care.

3
Participants

• Twenty two children and young people were
  included in the research.
• 11 female
• 11 male
• Between 12 20 years old
• Average age 14 years

4
Methodology

• Workbooks and semi-structured interviews were
  used to elicit childrens experience and
  perspectives.
• Multiple layers of consent
• Other choices who?, where? And who with?
• Interviews took place mainly in the residential
  establishments

5
Fractured family relationships (KF1)

• Residential care can exaggerate the experience of
  fractured familial relationships and loss
  frequently driven by familial substance misuse
• My big sister used to help me. We were close,
  but now I dont know where she is. She just left.

6
Thresholds (KF 2)

• The children in this study did not think that
  they had been taken into care too early. Some
  thought (particularly around parental alcohol
  misuse) that they had been brought into care too
  late.
• I just dont know how I wouldve ended up if Id
  have stayed living with my Mum, coz I was doing
  everything wrong. But my Mum never knew what I
  was doing. She never used to shout at us or stuff
  like that, she never knew what the hell we were
  doing. Which is kind of sad.

7
Exposure to Substance (KF 3)

• Residential care did not mean more exposure to
  substance misuse for the children in this study
  (most had far more exposure to substance problems
  at home).
• My uncle was an alky. My aunty drinks. My other
  aunty smokes weed 24/7. My Dad was a druggy,
  Thats about it.

8
Residential Care and Substance Use (KF4)

• Rather it was the particular stressors of
  residential care that led to some children
  seeking relief through absconding, substance use
  and sexual adventures
• Sometimes well be here and itll get really
  stressin and the staffll be doing your head in
  and theyll just be winding you up and winding
  you up and then youll think, dyou know what I
  cant be bothered, Ill go
• Getting pissed. Going missing. That makes you
  happy.

9
Substance Ambivalence (KF 5)

• Some had very negative views of their parents
  use
• I saw her (mum) change into a totally different
  person. She didnt care about anything but
  herself really
• But seemed unable to extend that view to their
  own use
• I know its bad for me because my Mum died
  through it but, I dont know, it just doesnt
  make me stop.
• A drink. No, coz that makes me sound like me Mum
  then, a drink.

10
Attitude to own substance use (KF6)

• The children in this study were reasonably well
  informed about different types of substance use.
  Government classification seemed not to influence
  their views on use. Substances seemed to be
  unofficially classified into three groups-
• 1)Desireable (Alcohol, cannabis and nicotine) .
• 2)Recreational (ecstasy, LSD, cocaine etc)OK as
  an occasional treat
• 3)Totally unacceptable (Heroin and crack-cocaine)

11
Too much/Dependence (KF7

• Participants seemed to have very strong views
  about too much use

. its all about having that one hand on
reality. As long as you know youve got control
and you can see the difference when you start
getting paranoid, when you start being a nob or
whatever you realise that you get to the point
where you know you should knock it on the head
for a bit
12
Recommendations/Implications

• Once children are received into residential care
  great attention needs to be paid to the retention
  of family and other relationships.
• Care thresholds around alcohol misuse may have
  been set at too high a level.

13
Recommendations (2)

• Attention needs to be paid to reducing care based
  stressors (lack of private space, too many carers
  etc) to reduce the perceived need for the
  comfort of substance use.
• Whole family and individual treatment services
  need to be offered to young people and their
  families. These services may include abstinence
  as a concept, but should also aim to challenge
  dependence and too much use

14
Residential Care and Substance Misuse Exploring
the relationship

• Michael Murphy and Sarah Ingram
• University of Salford
• M.Murphy_at_salford.ac.uk
• Tel [phone]