When Substance Use Spills Into Family Safety

Family safety can be affected when someone close has substance use issues. The study looked at partners and parents of adults with alcohol or other substance use issues. It asked whether these relatives were more likely to report physical harm, sexual harm, or emotional abuse in the past five years. It also checked how that exposure related to their well-being.

The work used a one-time survey analysis of answers from 17,640 Norwegian adults. Everyone was 23 or older. The data came from the 2023 Norwegian Counties Public Health Survey. The team adjusted for age and socioeconomic status. They also separated findings by gender. A latent regression model tested how family exposure related to well-being.

Partners and parents of people with substance use issues reported higher odds of violence. Women had an odds ratio of 4.54 for physical violence. Men had an odds ratio of 4.14 for physical violence. For sexual violence, women had an odds ratio of 4.31, and men had 4.80. Emotional abuse showed an odds ratio of 2.96 for both genders. These family members also reported lower well-being. The violence experiences helped explain that lower well-being. The study did not record who caused the harm, so the origin could not be identified.

Support programs should not treat these relatives only as caregivers. They need help that fits their own needs and is sensitive to gender. Public health efforts should recognize these family members as an at-risk group.