SUDs and the Family’s Readiness to Change (RTC)
ABSTRACT Citation from, ‘Family Functioning and Readiness in Family Recovery from Addiction’
Spencer D. Bradshaw, Sterling T. Shumway, Eugene W. Wang, Kitty S. Harris, Douglas B. Smith & Heather Austin-Robillard (2016) Family Functioning and Readiness in Family Recovery From Addiction, Journal of Groups in Addiction & Recovery, 11:1, 21-41, DOI Link: 10.1080/1556035X.2015.1104644
Introduction
Social support is an important part of the recovery process for addicts as it can serve as a buffer for the effects of stress on a recovering addict’s quality of life (Laudet, Morgen, & White, 2006), and it is a critical aspect of recovery mainte- nance (Wiebe, Cleveland, & Dean, 2010). One of the most important social sup- port groups for many addicts in recovery is their own family. It has been argued that increasing family members’ roles in addiction recovery can enhance treatment admission and retention, increase treatment outcomes, and aid family recovery from the harmful effects of addiction (Copello & Orford, 2002). One method of involve- ment that may lead to such positive effects is participation in multifamily groups that support recovery (Giuffredi, Di Gennaro, Montanari, Barilli, & Vescovi, 2003; Hendricks, 1971; Shumway, Kimball, Dakin, Baker, & Harris, 2011). Indeed, the family of a recovering addict/mentally ill family member provides a “scaffolding” for the addict’s recovery, for better or for worse (EnglandKennedy & Horton, 2011). Therefore, it is important that individual family members and the family as a whole are as healthy as possible.
Addiction, however, is a family disease (Roth, 2010) that negatively impacts the functioning of the family, and the health of individual family members often suffers (Brown & Lewis, 1995; Cruse, 1989; Wegscheider-Cruse & Cruse, 2012). Family members can become polarized in unhealthy roles (Cruse, 1989; Wegscheider-Cruse & Cruse, 2012) and other unhealthy family dynamics that cre- ate a homeostasis or stability that supports the substance use (Brown & Lewis, 1995). In such circumstances, family members are more likely to develop depres- sion or have substance problems themselves (Ray, Mertens, & Weisner, 2007), may be less able to provide effective social support, and might possibly hinder an addict’s recovery.
It is therefore important for family members to make changes and find personal recovery from the negative effects of addiction on the family and individual family members. Such change at the individual level can improve functioning of the family as a whole unit (Bowen & Kerr, 1988), which can lead to better support for each family member, including the addict. Family members likely need awareness and personal readiness to change as they may be embedded in deeply rooted dysfunc- tional family patterns that have evolved in the course of the addiction.
Research has emphasized the need for family members of addicts to take care of themselves in the process of recovery (O’Grady & Skinner, 2012). However, to our knowledge, research has not yet specifically examined the relationship between family members’ readiness to change and overall family functioning. The aim of this study was therefore to examine the potential reciprocal relationship between family member readiness to change and family functioning. Such under- standing may lead to a greater ability to help strengthen individuals and fam- ily units so they might become an effective support system for the recovering addict.
Contact: Spencer D. Bradshaw, spencer.bradshaw@ttu.edu Department of Community, Family, and Addiction Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409 USA.
