Peer-reviewed article
Understanding Child Maltreatment and Support Needs in Families with Problematic Parental Substance use.
Rantanen H, Plaami E, Kosonen J, Paavilainen E, Kuusisto K ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This qualitative study examined the experiences of 11 adults who had experienced child maltreatment while growing up in families with problematic parental substance use. The researchers identified multiple risk factors including intergenerational substance use, poverty, unemployment, parental mental health problems, social isolation, and inadequate parenting practices. The study found that while these children faced serious harms including physical and emotional violence and neglect, some mitigating factors helped buffer adverse effects. The authors conclude that effective prevention requires close collaboration between social and health services and a holistic understanding of affected families.
Key points
- Problematic parental substance use exposes children to multiple forms of maltreatment including physical and emotional violence and neglect
- Key risk factors include intergenerational transmission of substance use, socioeconomic disadvantage, unemployment, parental mental health issues, social isolation, and violent behaviour
- Some mitigating factors were identified that partly buffered adverse effects for children
- Effective early identification requires close collaboration between social and health services
- Prevention of maltreatment and intergenerational transmission requires holistic understanding of individual and family circumstances
Limitations
The study does not specify the countries where participants were located or the time period of their experiences. The sample consists only of trained experts-by-experience (adults reflecting on childhood), so findings cannot describe current prevalence or compare outcomes across different types of interventions.
Abstract
Aims This study aims to enhance understanding of child maltreatment (CM) in connection with problematic parental substance use (PPSU) and to identify related individual and familial support needs. Methods Using inductive qualitative content analysis, we examined the life stories of trained experts-by-experience (N = 11) who had experienced PPSU and various forms of CM, including physical and emotional violence and neglect in their family during childhood and adolescence. Results Several family-related and parental risk factors for CM emerged, such as intergenerational transmission of substance use, socioeconomic disadvantage, unemployment or excessive work, parental physical and mental health issues, social wellbeing challenges such as social isolation, violent behaviour, and inadequate parenting practices. Participants also described mitigating factors that partly buffered adverse effects. Conclusions The findings highlight diverse and persistent support needs. PPSU can expose children to a wide range of harmful CM experiences. Effective early identification of both PPSU and related CM requires close collaboration between social and health services, as well as inclusive and active client engagement. A holistic understanding of individual and family circumstances affected by PPSU is essential for preventing CM and its intergenerational transmission.