Poster #33 - Building Family-School Partnerships With Drug- and Alcohol-Addicted Parents: An In-Depth Examination of Parents' Experiences

• In Event: 64.090 - MTCC Poster Session 15
  In Poster Session: 64.090-6 - Family, School, Community Partnerships SIG Poster Session

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the school experiences of parents with drug and alcohol addictions in order to gain insights and perspectives from these experiences that could help schools develop improved family-school partnerships. Data were collected using an adaptation of the three-interview series approach to phenomenological interviewing (resulting in 34 interviews with fourteen participants). Analysis of data revealed three themes related to participants’ experiences: childhood trauma and instability; shame and self-loathing; and social connectedness. We suggest that by engaging in family-centered, trauma-sensitive care, schools have the potential to disrupt cyclical patterns of childhood trauma, problematic coping, and substance addiction while simultaneously promoting the overall wellbeing of children and their families.

Authors

• Kara Lasater, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

• Chris Spera