Challenging childhoods: Young people's accounts of 'getting by' in families with substance use problems

Abstract

Concern is increasing about children growing up in families where there are substance use problems but relatively little is known about the perspectives of the children themselves. We report on a qualitative study with young people who grew up in such families, exploring their accounts of their daily lives at home, school and leisure. We focus on the everyday interactions, practices and processes they felt helped them to ‘get by’ in their challenging childhoods, showing how the protective factors thought to promote ‘resilience’ were seldom in place for them unconditionally and without associated costs.