ePrints

Designing a self-directed family support intervention for parents/caregivers to aid conversation about parental substance use with children and young people

Lookup NU author(s): Debbie SmartORCiD, Dr Simon BarrettORCiD, Dr Angela Bate, Dr Eilish Gilvarry, Professor Vera Araujo Soares, Professor Eileen KanerORCiD, Professor Ruth McGovernORCiD

Downloads

• Accepted version [.pdf]

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

Purpose: Four hundred and seventy- eight thousand children in England are reported to live with a parent who uses substances. The presence of a stable non-substance using caregiver within the family has been found to be one protective factor for children (Velleman and Templeton, 2016), yet there is a lack of research examining how to intervene with non-substance using parents/ caregivers. This study aimed to: co-produce an intervention for non-substance using parents/caregivers and their children. Design: The study had three phases: (i) interviews with practitioners, exploring their perceptions of whom non-substance using parents/caregivers seek support from, the type of support needs they had, and what influenced their decision making; (ii) interviews with parents/caregivers to examine their support needs and experiences of help seeking; (iii) co-production workshops with parents/caregivers and practitioners to discuss the findings and design of an intervention. Findings: Parents/caregivers reported experiencing challenges in talking to their child(ren) about the other parent/caregiver’s substance use. They highlighted the importance of a structured intervention to support them to initiate conversations with children about how parental substance use impacted the child and wider family in a way that parents/caregivers felt was age appropriate and sensitive and supported them in their caregiving role to children. Originality: There is a lack of research examining how to intervene with non-substance using parents or other caregivers to support them in their parent/caregiver role. This study suggests ways for parents/caregivers to provide emotional support to their child impacted by parental substance use.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Smart D, Barrett S, Bate A, Berresford L, McEvoy-Carr C, Thompson H, Gilvarry E, Araujo Soares V, Kaner E, McGovern R

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Children's Services

Year: 2026

Volume: 21

Issue: 2

Pages: 37-53

Print publication date: 16/06/2026

Online publication date: 09/04/2026

Acceptance date: 23/09/2025

Date deposited: 17/05/2026

ISSN (print): 1746-6660

ISSN (electronic): 2042-8677

Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited

URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/JCS-05-2024-0015

DOI: 10.1108/JCS-05-2024-0015

ePrints DOI: 10.57711/4ycm-bm45

Altmetrics

Funding

Share