Date Published:
6 November 2006 |
Research reveals devastating impact drug addiction has on families
The profound impact that drug addicts have on their families is revealed in
a new book, published tomorrow, by a leading researcher at the Centre for Drug
Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow.
Professor Marina Barnard examined the devastating effects of drug use, not
only on the drug users themselves, but also on their families who experience
feelings of anger, shame and loss. The research, published for the first time
in book form, also highlights the unsung role grandparents play in caring for
the children of drug addicts and calls for an urgent review of services provided
by support agencies for families affected by drug abuse.
Professor Barnard said:
" This research - which for the first time has involved
interviews with drug users’ parents, grandparents, children, brothers
and sisters and service providers - shows, in the clearest of terms, that illegal
drug abuse is destroying family life for many thousands across Scotland today.
Whilst there is growing policy recognition that the needs of these families
remain unmet, the vast majority of services and government funding is still
directed at the addicts, with other family members left to founder alone.
_ Our research has found shortcomings in
the professional practice of many of the agencies. Children in particular
are still being neglected in fundamental
ways because of the persistent focus on the adult by those charged with the
responsibility for these families. The solution to this problem will inevitably
involve a substantial increase in funding to children and family and other
services but no less important is the requirement of a much closer specification
of the responsibilities falling to services in supporting vulnerable families
and a need for much greater oversight of the services involved. "
Professor Barnard warned:
" If we fail in these areas then tens of thousand
of children in Scotland today will suffer irreparable harm as a result of
the drug use that surrounds their young lives. "
Fergal Keane, Special Correspondent for BBC News, who has written the foreword
for the book, shares Professor Barnard's concerns. He said:
“ The most
common and damaging misunderstanding about drug dependency is that it only
concerns the person using the drugs. If we could just fix the addict then everything
else would be alright. It is a perception which not only places enormous pressure
on the individual who is dependent on drugs but it also ignores the pain experienced
by families and loved ones.
_ Of the first lessons I learned as a recovering
alcoholic was that what I considered 'my' problem was in fact a problem for
a lot of other people as
well. The pain and illness spreads out from the addict to encompass partners,
children, siblings and friends. The family can find itself caught in a web
of denial, shame, anger and sheer bewilderment as the drug user is pulled away
from them by the force of addiction. "
'Drug Addiction and Families' by Professor Marina Barnard is published on
7 November by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
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by
Glasgow University on
6 November 2006 and may have been edited (e.g. in style, length, and/or for
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