Family Members’ Help-Seeking Behaviour for Their Relative Who Uses Substances: A Cross-Sectional National Study in Brazil

Cassandra Borges Bortolon (), Martha Canfield, Maria de Fatima Rato Padin, Jim Orford and Ronaldo Laranjeira
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Cassandra Borges Bortolon: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paolo 04021-001, Brazil
Martha Canfield: Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK
Maria de Fatima Rato Padin: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paolo 04021-001, Brazil
Jim Orford: School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Ronaldo Laranjeira: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paolo 04021-001, Brazil

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: The affected family members (AFM) of relatives with substance use problems (RSU) play an important role in supporting their relatives to enter substance use treatment. This study investigated the help-seeking behaviours for their relatives by AFM in Brazil, including the characteristics of those who sought help and the risk factors for delaying it. A secondary analysis from a national cross-sectional study of 3030 AFM was performed. Participants were recruited from a range of services focused on AFM across each of the five Brazilian regions (North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast, South). While 92.7% sought help, 66.0% delayed for an average of 37.2 (SD 70.71) months. Help seeking was associated with higher socioeconomic status and being from the Southeastern region. Barriers included the relative refusing help (31.5%) and the belief that help was not needed (20.6%). Longer delays were associated with female AFM, residents in the Central-West region, non-parents, older RSU, alcohol use, and withdrawal coping strategies. The findings show disparities in help-seeking behaviour across socioeconomic groups, regions, and substance types, highlighting the need for better healthcare workforce distribution and targeted interventions to educate AFMs on the importance of engagement with healthcare services.

Keywords: affected family members; substance use; Brazil; help seeking; cross-sectional study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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