Needs and Challenges to Improve Rehabilitative Care for Parents with Substance Use Disorder - A Qualitative Study...

About 3 million children have lived in recent years with at least one parent who is addicted to legal and/or illegal substances in Germany. Parental substance use disorder represents a considerable social and economic burden for society. It also has severe health consequences for the parents themselves as well as for their children.The topic of parenthood and the needs of parents with substance use disorders have so far received little attention in inpatient rehabilitative treatment in Germany. Therefore, the study aims to explore the parenting-related needs of parents with substance use disorders in inpatient rehabilitation treatment from an expert perspective. We also aim to uncover structural and general challenges in relation to the topic of "parenting and substance use disorder".

Semi-structured expert interviews were conducted at different intervention and non-intervention clinics. The data analysis was based on structured content analysis.

The results reveal a strong need for rehabilitation measures that take the topic of parenthood into account. This would include, for example, different parenting-related offers such as organizing daily life, shaping the relationship with the children, programs about the general development of children, expressing and regulating emotions, and assistance with official/administrative matters. Further, there are various structural issues that need to be addressed.

Our results emphasize the concrete need for an evidence-based intervention for family-focused addiction treatment. In this way, care and the resulting health, quality of life, and functionality of the affected families can be improved in the future.