Abstract
M.Cur.
The increasing use of intoxicating substances worldwide has made societies shift deeper into the culture of substance abuse. The situation in South Africa is likely to be the same. Unfortunately, the scourge of substance abuse affects family life by causing family disruptions which lead to various social pathologies of our time. There is considerable literature supporting the stressful life experienced by adolescents living in neglectful, violent, conflict- and fight-orientated environments caused by the abuse of substances by parents. This study was carried out for the purpose of investigating the life-world of adolescents living in substance-influenced homes. The study is qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual in approach and it, therefore, became necessary to use phenomenological semi-structured interviews with the adolescents whose parents abuse substances. The sample consisted of eight high school adolescents living in three rural villages of Lomayaneng, Motsoseng and Seweding in Mafikeng. Before the interview, trust was built through written permission to the principals of the schools concerned and the parents of these children to conduct the research. At the same time, the adolescents were informed of what the research concerns before the main interview. Data was analysed utilizing Giorgi's and Tesch's methods. Trustworthiness was, amongst others, ensured throughout the study by applying Guba's approach, including the services of an independent coder. The findings of the study indicated that adolescents whose parents abuse substances live a stressful life and suffer much shame, neglect, despair and trauma because their aspirations, for example, education, emotional/spiritual, physical and social, are frustrated since their home life is dysfunctional. Two main themes were identified: Disrupted family life related to abuse of substances and stressful life related to frustrated aspirations; and their consequences were found to be that these adolescents use ineffective coping mechanisms, for example over-responsibility for all family members and failure to seek professional help with a view to coer the defects in their families. Guidelines for psychiatric nurses were built around these themes with the aim of assisting adolescents who are faced with similar situations to promote, maintain and restore their mental health as an integral part of health.