‘The Addiction Was Making Things Harder for My Mental Health’: A Qualitative Exploration of the Views of Adults and Adolescents Accessing a Substance Misuse Treatment Service

Liam Spencer (), Hayley Alderson, Steph Scott, Eileen Kaner and Jonathan Ling
Additional contact information
Liam Spencer: Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
Hayley Alderson: Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
Steph Scott: Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
Eileen Kaner: Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
Jonathan Ling: Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Sunderland, Sunderland SR1 3SD, UK

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: The relationship between substance use and mental health is complex, and both constitute a global public health burden. In the UK, the estimated annual financial costs of alcohol-related harm and illicit drug use are GBP 21.5 billion and GBP 10.7 billion, respectively. This issue is magnified in the North East of England, where treatment access is low and a large proportion of individuals experience socioeconomic deprivation. The present study aimed to explore the experiences of adults and adolescents accessing a substance misuse treatment service in the North East, in order to inform policy makers, commissioners, and providers of substance misuse treatment and prevention. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with an opportunistic sample of n = 15 adult participants (aged 18 years and over) and n = 10 adolescent participants (aged between 13 and 17 years). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, anonymised, and analysed thematically. Five key themes were identified: (1) initiation of substance use, (2) early life experiences, (3) the bi-directional relationship of mental health and substance use, (4) cessation of substance use, and (5) accessing treatment. Future preventative interventions should focus on providing support to individuals who have been exposed to adverse childhood experiences, with treatment provision for individuals experiencing co-occurring mental health and substance use issues taking a more holistic approach.

Keywords: substance use; mental health; treatment; adults; adolescents; qualitative research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/11/5967/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/11/5967/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:11:p:5967-:d:1157082

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().