Resources

This report explores the effect of non-dependent parental drinking on children, making a direct link between parental drinking habits and the attitudes, behaviours and impacts reported by their children.

This report looks at the impact of hepatitis C on the families of people who inject drugs.

Report for Adfam's Older Carers project working with and supporting older people in London who are affected by the drug or alcohol use of a loved one. 

Adfam’s first impact report, outlining our key achievements and activity from 2016.

Adfam's annual impact report, outlining our key achievements and activity from 2017. 

Adfam's activity and achievements from 2018

Adfam's research with YouGov which found that 1 in 3 people in Great Britain have been negatively affected by the substance use of someone they know. 

This document provides an overview of themes that emerged from the Adfam’s Whole Family Recovery and alcohol focus groups in Leeds and in Hertford, and structured interviews with three young people in Scotland conducted by STRADA.

It explores how having a family member with an alcohol problem can impact on the recovery of families.

A report of the BEAD Project's research into the experiences of those bereaved through substance use and how they access support.

An overview by Adfam and Cruse Bereavement Care on the existing research literature on drug and alcohol related bereavement.

Adfam research on patterns of drug and alcohol use (including khat) and supporting information on relevant elements of Somali culture and community.

This Executive Summary presents the main findings of 'Between a rock and a hard place'; how parents experience child-parent violence and how they look for help. It also makes recommendations for policy and practice.

This project report presents findings on how parents experience child-parent violence and how they look for help. It also makes recommendations for policy and practice.

The Blue Light Family Toolkit, produced collaboratively by Adfam and Alcohol Concern, aims to help adult family members engage more effectively with change resistant drinkers within their family.

The toolkit contains a range of resources that support family members to engage appropriately and effectively with their loved ones.

Addresses the stigma experienced by the families of substance users, and the barriers this presents to recovery for the whole family.

Project report from Adfam’s Whole Family Recovery Project which was funded by the Big Lottery to work with families affected by drugs and alcohol in the Royal Borough of Greenwich

A short guide to child to parent violence when the child uses drugs or alcohol for parents.

A short guide to child to parent violence when the child uses drugs or alcohol for practitioners.

A short guide to child to parent violence when the child uses drugs or alcohol for commissioners.

A joint response to Part 2 of the Dame Carol Black Review from an alliance of organisations that support, advocate and champion families affected by substance use.

Download here.

Produced as part of Adfam's 30th birthday celebrations in 2014, this document provides a thorough overview of the policy and research around families and substance use since 1984. It cover both Adfam's own work and that of the sector.

People affected by dual diagnosis often fall through the cracks of public services, and so do their families.

To understand more about this issue we carried out a detailed consultation with family members affected by a loved one’s dual diagnosis, the findings from which have been published in this research report.

Download the full report here.

Download the executive summary here.

This fundraising toolkit gives guidance for family support services on how they can enhance their fundraising at the local level. Areas covered include partnering with local businesses, running events and promoting them in the media, and applying to trusts and foundations.

This resource, published by Adfam and Mentor UK for the ADEPIS project, summarises the key issues around parental substance use for a school audience. It provides information on the impacts of parental drug and alcohl use on children, indicators the children might show in school and how they can be supported in this setting.

How to support family members who may be harder to reach: men, people from ethnic minorities, LGBT families and those living in rural areas.

This leaflet is intended to provide you with information about domestic abuse and substance use. It looks at its impact on victims, family and friends, as well as what you can do to help others, and yourself, stay safe.

Making It Happen brings together Adfam’s 30+ years of experience in family support in a best practice guide aimed at commissioners and service managers

Over the past decade, a number of children have been killed or seriously harmed through ingesting drug treatment medication prescribed to their parents and carers.

In light of these incidents, in 2014 Adfam published a research report, Medications in drug treatment: Tackling the risks to children (pdf). This analysed learning from Serious Case Reviews, explored current literature and guidance on the issue, canvassed the views of frontline practitioners and experts, and recommended ways of improving safety.

A year after the publication of the report, Adfam produced a new research report, Medications in drug treatment: Tackling the risks to children – one year on (pdf) to build on the original work by looking at progress made in the last year, providing updated statistics and information, and giving recommendations to practitioners and policymakers on how to reduce risk and the incidence of these tragic occurrences.

In 2018 Adfam produced a guide, Opioid Substitute Treatment (OST) and risks to children: Good Practice Guide (pdf), for practitioners to implement some of the learning from the research. The guide is for any practitioner who comes into contact with parents (or those living with children) using substances and their children.

Adfam's manifesto outlining five ways the government can improve support for families affected by drugs or alcohol.

This report explores the experiences of families affected by alcohol use.

It asks how the families of drinkers may experience things differently to those of drug users, what the barriers are that prevent people from accessing support and how society characterises problem drinking.

This latest research looks at the number of people negatively impacted by someone else's drinking, drug use or gambling. It finds that over 5 million adults in Great Britain are currently negatively affected by one or more of these issues, and highlights why we should be doing more to support these families and friends. 

Adfam research into the views and experiences of frontline practitioners working with parental substance users and their children. This report is also available as an executive summary (pdf).

A resource for family support services with all the practical and legal information needed for the successful use of volunteers.

Summary of findings from a survey into how couple relationships are affected by drugs and alcohol. The survey is part of a wider pilot project, ‘Relationship Realities’, a partnership between relationship research charity OnePlusOne and Adfam, funded by the Department for work and Pensions. 

Adfam published our family state of the sector report in December 2016 following two online surveys an in-depth interviews with family support service managers across the UK, examining the state of the family drug and alcohol support sector. You can also read the executive summary (pdf). 

This project report presents the findings of research into the help seeking behaviour of families of substance users carried out by Dr Sarah Galvani of the University of Bedfordshire.

This booklet was produced in partnership with Mentor UK and provides background on the nature, history and legality of legal highs and club drugs and considers some of the myths that surround them.

It also provides some tips on how parents might start health conversations with their children on this topic, and where to go if they need further help.

The first economic assessment of a family support service, showing that it provides £4.70 of savings to the state for every £1 of investment. It also shows that Adfam provides a Social Return on Investment (SROI) of £2 for every £1 of income.