‘Don't Make Us Talk!’: Listening to and Learning from Children and Young People Living with Parental Alcohol Problems

Abstract

Given the common issues of secrecy, shame and stigma, we know very little about the lives of children affected by parental alcohol problems from their own perspectives. Thirty children and young people (aged between 9 and 20) chose to communicate about this sensitive issue as part of a Scottish qualitative study. This study reveals how children and young people have extensive knowledge about parental alcohol problems and can demonstrate considerable agency in choosing how to share this knowledge in a research setting. Developing a greater understanding of children's nuanced ways of communicating has implications for research, policy and practice.

Adolescent Substance Use in the Context of the Family: A Qualitative Study of Young People's Views on Parent-Child Attachments, Parenting Style and Parental Substance Use

“…Data were collected from a school based sample and we did not elicit information regarding the participant's lifetime substance use. However, discussions using the 'third person' and 'hypothetical scenarios' may be suggestive of personal insights (Hill, 2013). Participants were purposively selected by a liaison teacher and the participant's experience of substance use may have influenced the selection process.…”

Youth Jury Policy Deliberation: Towards a Fair and Responsible Internet

“…The other is the incompatibility of the communicative practice and style in the formal decision‐making process and that of young people to an extent that excludes their genuine voices (Cockburn, ). To address these limitations, Mannion (), Cockburn () and Hill () suggested developing an adult–child relation and space for young people to legitimately and comfortably speak about who they are and what they need without sacrificing their identity as children.…”

Mental Health, Drug Use and Adolescence: Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable Students in Secondary School

“…Child abuse is often related to poverty, and poverty frequently increases the risk of alcohol and drug abuse in the family. For this group of children, fear of being removed from their homes and their parents' insistence that they not talk about their problems outside the family result in children seldom reporting their problems to the social services (Hill 2015;Backett-Milburn and Jackson 2012). Instead children often seek support through friends, by talking to them, and sometimes their friends' homes provide a safe place to stay (Hill 2015;Odenbring et al 2015).…”