Substance Abuse Within the Family: Coping Through Family Communication

Abstract

This case study is based on data collected from in-depth interviews with people who have a substance-dependent family member. It tells the story of how one family deals with the onset and cycle of addiction as well as the recovery process of one member’s substance use disorder. Readers will examine how communication is central to a family’s coping processes when experiencing a crisis. Discussion questions draw on Maguire’s (2012) communication-based coping model.