Family Relationships and Experiences in the Narratives of Individuals Who Use Drugs

This study focuses on how drug addicts experience vulnerability in their family relationships and aims to reveal the effect of these relationships on the addiction process from a qualitative perspective. Interviews were conducted with 72 individuals (8 women, 64 men) who were on probation for drug use disorders and related crimes in Antalya, Türkiye. According to the findings, the place where the family lived, the criminal and drug addiction history of the parents, unconscious parental attitudes and indifferent parents at home, lack of warm relationships or any bond in the family environment, loneliness, abandonment, the presence of broken families and remarried parents had an impact on the participants’ relationship with drugs. The study reveals that while the family may contribute to the onset of the problem, it also holds an influential role in the potential treatment and recovery process.