Advantages of Having Siblings and Family in Relationship with Substance Use

Introduction

Issues of fidelity, separation, lack of communication, and conflicts due to the difference in personality are common issues among the participants’ parents. Witnessing marital conflicts can affect how a child adjusts with problems they may face (Kelly, 2000). Seeing that parents are the primary role models for children, children will observe and adapt to how their parents deal with their problems, such as if a parent faces a situation with aggression and violence, their child may follow suit (Bandura, 1977). Few of the participants have witnessed serious verbal conflicts, and even physical conflicts, between their parents. Furthermore, some participants have also received corporal punishment as their parents’ way of disciplining them. It was also mentioned by the participants that when facing certain issues, they would result to delinquent or violent behavior in order to ease their frustrations, highlighting the need for positive coping mechanisms. On the other hand, the advantages of having siblings, such as emotional support and a close friendship, can provide a buffer against the negative effects of family conflicts and contribute to healthier outcomes (insert advantages of having siblings). Among these behaviors include the use of substances.

From the early age of a child, patterns between the parent and child are made which would continue throughout the lifespan of the individual (Erickson, Korfmacher, & Egeland, 1992). Aside from the observations a child can make about their parents’ relationship, the relationship between the child and parent is also taken into account. It is vital for a child to have and feel the affection of their parent in order to develop healthily in terms of psychological well-being. The lack of affection early in the parent-child relationship can have detrimental effects on the child (Benares & Villarama, 2002). As what was mentioned by the participants, few have experienced lack of affection and effective communication with their parents from a young age up until now as a young adult. This has led to their current relationship with their parent(s) to be strained.

Preference of One Parent Over the Other

Majority of the participants have an attachment to either their father or mother. Although there is a connection with one of the parents, it should still be noted that having an unstable relationship with the other parent can still result in harmful effects on the child (Keller, Catalano, Haggerty, & Fleming, 2002). For the parents who the participant described as having a negative relationship with, they did not show affection towards their parent during the interview. Some of the participants used the words “narrow minded, judgmental, strict, dominant, conservative, aloof” to describe their parents’ personality, which plays a pivotal role in determining the relationship between parent and child as seeing that his is how they perceive their parent. Some participants felt strong animosity towards one of their parents that they hope to never be like them. One participant even one of her parent’s out of her life. It was also said by one participant that although her parents keeps finding out about her delinquent behavior, she still continues to do it anyway, not caring about what her parents think. It was also mentioned by this same participant that her parents are extremely strict with her in terms of going out, curfew, and having a relationship. Aggressive behaviors, childhood behavioral problems, and delinquent behaviors can be caused by overly strict and harsh parenting, and is actually more common with this type of parenting style (Rosli, 2009). This type of behavior could be used as a protest against the treatment the child faces from the parent.

Moreover, many of the participants were not open enough with their parents to be able to tell them about their everyday lives, romantic interests, emotional problems, etc., for the feat that it may evoke negative feelings. These negative feelings would then be returned to them in lashing-out shouting, arguments, and even physical hitting when they were younger.

Advantages of Having Siblings: First Friends

Most of the participants are positively related to their siblings. They partake in the same activities, practice effective communication, and support each other. Participants who were close to their siblings in age would rant together about their parents since they were the only other people who knew how their parents really acted. Five participants answered that their siblings know that they use recreational substances. Many feel comfortable with their sibling that they can share their day-to-day thoughts and activities without feeling judgment coming from the other party. The lack of closeness that a participant felt with their parents is found in their siblings. Moreover, parents are considered as authority figures (Mercer & Kohn, 1980), and thus, have more control over them, unlike their siblings who are more or less at par with them. Siblings have fewer emotional obligations and can influence and advise each other in a non-possessive way (Bank & Kahn, 1975). Therefore, a common feature of the substance user’s relationship with siblings would be the presence of a sibling bond.

Substance users mentioned having petty arguments with their siblings, but this is considered normal as it inevitably takes place. One specific participant has a negative relationship with all his siblings throughout his growth. He lives separately from his siblings, and this highly eliminated the chance to form close and personal relationships with them. These negative interactions are reigning due to an intense conflict, and their non-existent interaction afterwards.

Implications of the Study

This chapter will present the summary of the findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on the data analyzed in the previous chapter. Limitations of the study have been identified. The perception of university recreational substance users of their families and what that perception has on their substance use was researched through interviews which would allow the participant to offer their narrative on this topic.

Summary

The ample and extensive amount of studies on substance addiction are presently available, while there is a huge inadequacy of research on the use of recreational substances (Halperin, 2018). Producing an altered state of consciousness for pleasure by changing the perceptions, feelings, and emotions of the user is how recreational substances work (Siquilini, et al., 2005). Past studies that were conducted have recommended that one of the primary contributors of substance use are mishaps in the family of the substance user (Caday, 2017; Tarter, et al., 2010).

This study described and analyzed the perception of the substance user of their family’s relationship and what those perceptions have in their substance use. Specifically, it tackled the perceived effect of the parent-parent relationship, parent-child relationship, and sibling-sibling relationship on recreational substance use.

Family relationships showcase bilateral directional arrows wherein the perception of family relationships affect the three types of family relationships, and how the three types of family relationships affect the perception of the substance user. Through a bilateral framework, the different types of family relationships show the possibilities of different perceptions of a substance user regarding their individual perception of their family relationships.

The study utilized a qualitative research design, together with a narrative data analysis. The participants are 10 Filipino university students aged between 18-25, and were recruited through purposive sampling. A semi-structured interview was used to procure the necessary data. The questions were designed to analyze the subjects’ substance experience and the existing familial relationships.

Most of the participants deemed to have a relatively positive familial relationship. While there is a presence of conflicts and lack of communication, they were good as a whole unit. Breaking it down to parent-parent relationships is completely different. Issues of fidelity, separation, hostile communication, differences in values, are the prevailing circumstances of the participants’ parents. There are parents who spend minimal time together and do not exhibit understanding and concern for their spouse. On the participants’ relationship with their parents, almost all were inconsistent, only showing one-sided attachment to a specific parent. The subjects all suffer from negative parental relationships. Strictness, disconnectedness, and dissimilar characteristics built an unfavorable relationship between the parents and the participants. These led the parties involved to distance themselves from each other. Lastly, the sibling-sibling relationships were predominantly pleasant. Substance users exhibit the sufficiency of concern to establish a bond with their siblings. Very few of these relationships were distant. Nearly all of the participants get to do activities and share interests with their siblings. Some even use recreational substances together. This also revealed that the substance user undergoes certain stages by compensating for the shortcomings of a positive parental relationship by not disregarding the need for a sibling bond.

In centering substance use in families, the family environment plays an important role (Duffy, et al., 2010). The manner of conducting oneself among the family members present the components for the expression of intrinsic vulnerability to substance use. The family processes, structure, and systems execute an element within the nature and progression of substance use by a loved one (Forrester & Harwin, 2008).

Conclusions

As a prerequisite for survival, the family is a vital socializing foundation whose main proposition is to ensure types of behavior normalized by affection, culture, and full protection towards its members (Medeiros, 2013). A comprehensive family history on assessment is crucial in understanding the risk and factors involved in substance using behavior. The awareness of certain family interactions and relationships, together with their parental profiles and children’s residential circumstances, is of preeminent significance in discerning the nature and progression of substance use by a family member. Substance use may be the coping behavior, driven by the motivation to attain equilibrium and stability within the family -- with the substance use itself contributing to dysfunctional flows (Kaufman, 1981).

Substance use is comprehended from theoretical frameworks such as the family systems theory, and the stress-coping health theory, and an attempt is made to disentangle family processes which contribute to the ongoing problematic behavior.

“Family Systems Theory: substance user provides a mechanism for dealing with stress, making the individual helpless and dependent on the family; overwhelming feeling of a tragedy experienced by the family serves as a threat for the family system, with the potential for the family to break up (Bowen, 1978).”

“Stress-coping-health Framework: the family stress resulting from a tragedy is reduced through drug use, by shifting the distress from the tragedy to the substance use (Hanson & Estes, 1977).”

Poor welfare and the coalitions between the family members and substance user effectively split the family. This then reduce the relationships to suffer into disengaged interactions (Forrester and Harwin, 2008). Several studies refer to the difficulties in communication within the family environment. Feelings are not expressed freely, with gestures of love and affection frequently lacking. Interpersonal conflicts are dealt with counterproductively. Family interaction can also be cold and lifeless, becoming alive when dealing with the problem of substance use (Hawson & Estes, 1977). Dysfunctional family relationships may have guided the family member to a pathway to use substances, and to continue doing so. Families with inadequate interaction have difficulty adjusting to such stages within their life cycle and tend to remain stuck in trying to cope with the stress. These crisis stages can also be considered as traumatic losses, which have been described as contributing to substance use within the family context (Haley, 1973).

Family disruptions obstruct normative levels of supervision and support among parents, consequently increasing the risk of substance use by their children (Moor, et al., 2015). Stress and distress suggest that certain family structures tend to be conducive to higher levels of distress and negative affect among youth, especially because some types are related to residential mobility, changes in parenting styles, and relations as biological parents remarry, and general social upheaval (Wheaton & Montazer, 2010). Stressful experiences and distress are commonly on the same wavelength with substance use. It often serves as a coping or escape mechanism when they experience feelings of distress, anxiety, and negative affect (Elkington, Bauermeister, & Zimmerman, 2010).  

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