Support for families affected by alcohol use

Adfam welcomes Alcohol Awareness Week and the focus it brings on the harm alcohol can cause individuals, families and communities in the UK. Although there is lots of good work being done and an increased awareness of the possible negative effects of alcohol there is still a long way to go. We would like to add to the debate by highlighting the needs of families affected by alcohol in a call for a whole-family response to be properly implemented.

The experiences and needs of families affected by alcohol use are in many ways similar to those of people dealing with the drug use of a loved one. Many feel anger and resentment towards the user combined with a worry for their health and wellbeing and a desire to see them seek and receive effective treatment. Family members affected by alcohol or drugs also need and deserve help for themselves – for the inevitable stresses and strains of supporting and often living with the substance user.

Historically there has simply not been enough support for families affected by either drugs or alcohol. Although there has been support (not always enough) for the drug or alcohol user themselves, their families have often been invisible in policy terms. Nobody exists in a vacuum – the families of problematic alcohol users need to be supported both for their own sakes and also for the positive role they can play in supporting the alcohol user’s recovery and treatment journey.

But in some ways the needs of families affected by alcohol are different.

As the Government’s drug strategy acknowledges ‘alcohol plays an important part in the cultural life of this country’[1]. Because of the widespread and legal status of alcohol, individuals, their families and society in general may be slower to identify a problem when it does arise and more tolerant of bad behaviour. Research indicates that problematic alcohol users take ‘an average of thirteen years longer [than drug users] to initially recognise their alcohol use as a problem and twelve years longer to access treatment’[2], a huge disparity. This means that families are likely to suffer for longer and face the additional challenges of communities being slow and reluctant to recognise and acknowledge a problem at all.

The workforce itself is not always best prepared for supporting the families of alcohol users. There has been a historic lack of alcohol treatment in general, and many substance use practitioners lack knowledge and expertise around family work. This is therefore a potential double barrier for families of alcohol users, and Adfam suggests that comprehensive training and on-going professional support is the best way to improve the capacity, competency and knowledge of the workforce.

Some family members may mistakenly believe that local support services exist only for families affected by drug use and be slow in attempting to access them, others may be reluctant because of misconceptions or prejudice towards drug users. Services that do support families affected by alcohol use need to make it clear that this is the case and that all types of families are welcome.

Consultation work conducted by Adfam has clearly demonstrated that grass-roots family support services can and do effectively meet the needs of families of both drug and alcohol users. Although the substances are different the behaviour of the users is often very similar and families go through similar stresses and worries, and can certainly empathise with each other. Adfam therefore encourages any measure which helps the continued existence and consistent funding of these support groups.

Lastly, domestic violence may also be a barrier to families seeking support. Although we know ‘there is no simple causal relationship between substance use and domestic violence’[3] domestic violence is manifest as a ‘pattern of abusive and controlling behaviour through which the abuser…seeks power over their victim’[4] in which alcohol may be a contributing or complicating factor. If family members are victims of domestic violence perpetrated by someone who drinks problematically they may be unwilling to seek support and talk to services in case the abuse is uncovered and the perpetrator punishes them through increased abuse.

In addition there are circumstances where survivors have alcohol problems rather, or as well as, the perpetrators. Research has indicated that abused women are 15 times more likely to use alcohol and nine times more likely to use drugs than non-abused women[5]. This means that families where the mother has an alcohol problem are more likely to be families that also experience domestic violence. This violence in turn might discourage children or other family members from seeking support, worrying that they might themselves become victims, or that the mother could be punished by the perpetrator.

We want to do more work understanding the needs of families affected by alcohol use. If you or your organisation would like to be involved or discuss Alcohol Awareness Week with Adfam please get in touch. If you wish to contribute your own experiences to the process please also contact us - your experiences will be treated in complete confidence. Admin@adfam.org.uk- 020 7553 7640.


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[1] Drug Strategy 2008

[2] Accessing treatment for problem alcohol users: Why the delay?, Gloucester Research Unit

[3] Thinking It Through Toolkit, Adfam and AVA, 2011

[4] Ibid

[5] Cited in Barron, J. (2004) Struggle to Survive: Challenges for delivering services on mental health, substance misuse and domestic violence, Women’s Aid Federation England