<p>There are many children in Sweden today, approximately 200 000, who have parents or a parent that abuses alcohol or other drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate how group leaders in support groups for children with addicted parents relate to this sort of support groups. What are their advantages and disadvantages, according to the group leaders?</p><p>The method used was qualitative and the empirical material was collected through group interviews. We have interviewed eight persons who are social workers and the interviews were carried out at three work places. The analysis of the material takes a survey of previous written literature as the point of departure. The theoretical framework was eclectic, combining a child perspective with a holistic approach to the situation of children with addicted parents. The interview material was interpreted with the help of hermeneutic theory. Furthermore, Antonovsky’s salutogenic theory, system theory and theory on social change have been used in the analysis.</p><p>The analysis shows that the group leaders’ position is that children that have parents or a parent, who abuse alcohol need support groups. The group leaders of support groups bring up that the most important thing for these children is to have other children that they can talk to and trust. However, it was clearly more difficult for the interviewees to discuss possible disadvantages. Drawing upon a holistic perspective, we argue that one disadvantage is how group leaders see children as individuals instead of seeing the family as a whole and the need to deal with the children’s main problem, their parents’ addiction. We also discuss the fact that it seems as if a case worker with overall responsibility rarely monitors the child’s situation. Drawing upon theories on social change we argue that although support groups may empower children to some extent, support groups cannot in themselves be regarded as a way of creating social change.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA/oai:DiVA.org:hik-139 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Long, Michellé, Johansson, Anette |
| Publisher | University of Kalmar, School of Human Sciences, University of Kalmar, School of Human Sciences, Högskolan i Kalmar |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, text |
Page generated in 0.0018 seconds