Social Support Among Women Suffering from Substance Use Disorders: The Power of Social Networks

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Abstract

Substance use disorders among women, especially mothers, are often associated with involvement in the criminal legal system. Social support is essential to women’s survival and recovery, and it is the primary way women can connect with their children. Unfortunately, as documented in previous studies, support is often missing in the lives of women who struggle with addiction and have been involved with the criminal legal system. This paper draws on in-depth interviews with 50 women who identified as either ‘in recovery’ or ‘in active addiction,’ the majority of whom were mothers of young children living in the community or in agencies associated with the criminal legal system following an arrest or incarceration for violations of the law that were the direct result of their addiction disorders. Several themes emerged from the data addressing participants’ social support structures. Analytical themes include: Social support during childhood and adolescence, with several participants focusing on difficult relationships with family members due to challenging living arrangements—such as parental separation or divorce, death, or other traumatic events or circumstances (e.g., parental drug addiction or alcohol use). Social support throughout adulthood and difficulties maintaining intimate relationships due to involvement with the criminal legal system or abusive intimate contexts. Development of prosocial networks within the addiction recovery community. The issue of trust in social support mechanisms, especially those formally imposed by authority figures, such as supervisors within the criminal legal system or recovery centers. Social support within faith-based organizations. Our findings contribute to the broader body of research on forms of social support in recovery communities and institutions.

Authors

• Kevin L. McElmurry, Indiana University-Northwest

• Monica Solinas-Saunders, Indiana University Northwest

• Natasha R Brown, Indiana University

• Mark Thomas, Indiana University

• Maureen Petrunich Rutherford, Indiana University