Family’ members experiences of their older relative’s alcohol and substance misuse

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BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption in Norway and much of the western world has increased during the past decades, in particular among older adults (> 65 years). Although living with a family member's alcohol misuse has been shown to have a significant deleterious health impact, research on this topic is both lacking and urgently needed to develop targeted health services. AIM: To generate knowledge of how family members are affected by their older relatives' alcohol and other substance misuse problems. METHOD: In 2020, 17 individual interviews were carried out with the wives and adult children of older adults with alcohol and other substance misuse problems. Data were analysed using content analysis. FINDINGS: . Both included four subthemes, representing different dimensions of participants' experiences of the impact of their older relative's alcohol and substance misuse. CONCLUSION: The challenges family members experienced through ongoing exposure to their relatives' alcohol and/or other substance misuse increased over time. These experiences had significant negative consequences for their health and life situation.