Mothers in recovery: an occupational perspective

The purposes of this study were to discover the stories of mothers regarding their journeys to addiction and through recovery, to explore the impact of addiction on the occupational performance of mothers and to identify the factors perceived by these mothers as important in their treatment. A narrative inquiry with thematic analysis of data was utilized; semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 women in treatment for alcohol or other drug addiction who were all mothers of minor children. Alterations in occupational identity, occupational performance patterns and performance capacity were revealed. Environmental elements contributing to addiction and those important in recovery were identified and included structure (or the lack of it) and the persons populating the social environment. This qualitative study is not generalizable and should be viewed as relevant to these informants in this context; participants had histories of chronic substance addiction and are not representative of all addictions patients. Findings can be viewed within the context of other research to help enrich the reader's understanding of the complexity of issues. Further research is recommended to test the efficacy of occupational therapy interventions for substance addictions. Possible intervention studies might include those focused on environmental structure, exploration of interests in treatment and co-occupations of mother and child.