Experiences and Challenges of Children of Fathers’ Involved in Substance Abuse (a Phenomenological Study)

Abstract

One of the fundamental values ​​of the social work profession is social justice and special attention to vulnerable people and groups, especially children, in difficult conditions. The aim of the present study was to identify problems of children of fathers involved in substance abuse, in order to reduce the problems of these children has been addressed. The present study employed phenomenology, a qualitative re­search method. The population consisted of chil­dren of substance abusing fathers. The study was conducted to use a purposive sampling refined by a theoretical sampling of 28 children who participated in the study. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus group discus­sions. Seven categories of children’s problems were found in the FGD and in-depth interviews. These categories included: nega­tive attitude toward oneself, parental support disor­der, accept the role of the misfortune hero, violence and maltreatment, the drama of chaos, family rou­tine/ disorganization, exclusion and isolation. The findings of this study indicated that the quality of parental – child relationship and between parents are not satisfied. Domestic violence is one of the obvious signs of family problems and children are deprived of resilience protective factors.

Keywords

• father of consumer materials
• children's challenges
• resilience
• qualitative method and disruption of support