Social support in families of people with addiction problems.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Testing the effect of social support on the relationship between stress and resulting symptoms in families of people with addiction problems.
IRAS ID
122319
Contact name
Carly Spicer
Contact email
Research summary
The proposed research will focus on family members affected by relatives with an addiction. A body of research has been completed to consider what occurs within families when an addiction problem develops in one member. This work is underpinned by the proposed Stress-Strain-Coping-Support (SSCS) model which is based on a psychological understanding of responses to stressful circumstances. However, more research is required to further investigate the SSCS model. A minimum of 75 family members experiencing life with a relative with an addiction problem (drugs and/or alcohol) will be recruited. Participants will be recruited through Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust, South Staffordshire PCT, Herefordshire PCT, Aquarius, Adsis and Al-Anon. The study will use the following questionnaires to measure 4 areas; stress with the Family Member Impact (FMI), strain with the Symptom Rating Test (SRT), coping with the Coping Questionnaire (CQ), and social support with The Alcohol, Drugs and the Family Social Support Scale (ADF SSS). These areas cover the four parts of the model and the data collected will provide information on the relationships between them. The impact of coping (as a single construct) and three types of social support (positive functional support, negative ADF support and positive ADF support) will be looked at in detail. It is hypothesised that overall coping and certain types of social support will have an influencing role in the stress-strain relationship. The findings will add to a relatively underexplored area of addictions by looking more closely at the influence of coping styles and types of support for family members affected by their relative’s addictions.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/WM/0239
Date of REC Opinion
22 Jul 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion