<p>The aim of this essay was to study how the communities work with groups as a support to children with addictive parents, and to increase my understanding of the groups meaning as a support. My main questions have been: How are the child group sessions formed? What kind of experience does the group leaders have regarding their functions? The study is a qualitative investigation that has been turned to prefessionals in the subject area and  is based on 6 interviews and secondary sources. The material has been analyzed from a narrativ theory as well as a salutogent perspective. Research shows that children growing up in an addictive environment often have decreased psychological health and are overrepresented amongst those who developed a future addiction. During the 1990- ies the first groups for children in addicted enviroments developed in Sweden and since then the groups have improved intensely. Reasearch shows that support is an important part for children with addictive parents and those who has managed well in life has had an adult to support and confirm them. All of my interviews worked with children are people too (CAP) as a method but the shape of the groups were formed differently. They showed the importance of meeting with other children in the same situations and rebuilding their self esteem. It was important that the child was aware that the parents addiction wasn´t their fault and nothing they could change. My result clearly shows the importance of the group existence and describes that the children progressivly opened up and could talk about their experiences. The need of the group sessions felt as large but the difficulty lies in how to get the children to enter the group. In the matter of development my interviews wanted the public to be more aware of these problems and let them know that these groups existed.</p><p>Keywords: children, addictive parents, groups, support, professionals perspective</p>

The aim of this essay was to study how the communities work with groups as a support to children with addictive parents, and to increase my understanding of the groups meaning as a support. My main questions have been: How are the child group sessions formed? What kind of experience does the group leaders have regarding their functions? The study is a qualitative investigation that has been turned to prefessionals in the subject area and  is based on 6 interviews and secondary sources. The material has been analyzed from a narrativ theory as well as a salutogent perspective. Research shows that children growing up in an addictive environment often have decreased psychological health and are overrepresented amongst those who developed a future addiction. During the 1990- ies the first groups for children in addicted enviroments developed in Sweden and since then the groups have improved intensely. Reasearch shows that support is an important part for children with addictive parents and those who has managed well in life has had an adult to support and confirm them. All of my interviews worked with children are people too (CAP) as a method but the shape of the groups were formed differently. They showed the importance of meeting with other children in the same situations and rebuilding their self esteem. It was important that the child was aware that the parents addiction wasn´t their fault and nothing they could change. My result clearly shows the importance of the group existence and describes that the children progressivly opened up and could talk about their experiences. The need of the group sessions felt as large but the difficulty lies in how to get the children to enter the group. In the matter of development my interviews wanted the public to be more aware of these problems and let them know that these groups existed. Keywords: children, addictive parents, groups, support, professionals perspective

Barndomstrauma är en av de identifierade folkhälsoutmaningar som samhället står inför. Dagens samhälle har öppnat upp för diskussion gällande den psykiska ohälsan, där ett självskadebeteende inkluderas. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka yrkesverksammas syn på relationen mellan barndomstrauma, speciellt sexuella övergrepp och uppkomsten av ett självskadebeteende genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet indikerar att det finns ett samband mellan sexuella övergrepp och att senare utveckla någon form av självskadebeteende för att kunna hantera överväldigande känslor som kan uppstå efter att ha varit utsatt för sexuella övergrepp. Däremot är betoningen störst på barndomstrauma generellt och inte främst på sexuella övergrepp. I resultatet framkommer även att begreppet barndomstrauma är för brett för att det ska gå att garantera att samma definitioner används. Ett centralt fynd berör att de yrkesverksamma i denna studie inte definierar ett indirekt självskadebeteende som en form av självskadebeteende. Resultatet har visat motsägelsefulla meningar i form av att det indirekta självskadebeteendet inte anses vara en form av självskadebeteende samtidigt som intervjupersonerna beskriver att sin målgrupp ägnar sig åt beteenden och situationer som ingår i det indirekta självskadebeteendet. Därav finns ett tydligt behov att avgränsa begreppen ytterligare för att kunna bidra till en universell definition och en gemensam förståelse. / Child trauma is recognized as one of the prevailing public health challenges in society. Contemporary society has fostered an environment conducive to discussing mental health issues, encompassing self-harm. This study seeks to explore professionals' perspectives on the correlation between sexual abuse and self-harm through semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest a link between sexual abuse and the subsequent development of self-harm behaviors as a coping mechanism for dealing with overwhelming emotions following such abuse. However, it is evident that the terms "childhood trauma" and "self-harm" are perceived as overly broad, leading to variations in their definitions. A notable discovery is that the professionals in this study do not classify indirect self-harm as a form of self-harm. The results reveal conflicting meanings, as indirect self-harm is not officially recognized as such, despite interviewees describing behaviors within their target group that align with indirect self-harm. Therefore, there is a clear imperative to refine these concepts to foster a universal definition and shared understanding.