Coping Mechanisms of Parents of Youth Undergoing Rehabilitation from Alcohol and Substance Abuse: A Case of Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Alcohol and substance abuse (ASA) is a global problem among the youth. This has placed a strain on society, especially on parents who struggle to cope with the crisis of their youth engaging in ASA. This study aimed to assess the coping mechanisms used by parents of youth undergoing rehabilitation for ASA at Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital (MNTRH). The study was guided by the following objectives: identify coping mechanisms used by parents of alcohol and substance-abusing youth at MNTRH; examine family, community, rehabilitation, and religious institutions’ support systems for parents in coping with the youth; and explore the intervening effect of demographic factors in parents’ coping mechanisms with their alcohol and substance-abusing youth. The study used a descriptive qualitative study design. The study sampled 19 respondents through convenience and snowballing sampling. The findings showed that avoidance strategy was a popular means of coping with alcohol and substance-abusing youth. Although there was support from the family and community for parents of youth engaging in ASA, no material or ‘tangible’ support was from religious organisations. Family members supported parents of alcohol and substance-abusing youth through talking, sharing, and sometimes financial support; community support was in form of moral support by parents sharing their experiences with other parents. Further, rehabilitation support in communities did not have any effect on parents coping. Gender, age, education level, marital status, and employment status of parents influenced how they were able to cope, however, this was not the case for culture. The study recommends that avoidance should not be used by parents, since it will result in a more negative outcome for the alcohol and substance-abusing youth and more awareness in the community and religious institutions to reduce the negative attitude toward ASA.