van Namen Dorine M, Martinelli Thomas, Hilberink Sander R, de Vries Hein, Nagelhout Gera E, van Staa AnneLoes
Research Center Innovations in Care, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Department of Health Promotion, CAPHRI Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2025 Dec;16(1):2491173. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2491173. Epub 2025 May 6.
Family members of relatives with addiction (often referred to as Affected Family Members [AFMs]) experience potentially traumatic events, including psychological violence, physical violence, sexual violence, death, or accidents of relatives due to addiction. This study explores the development of stress in young adult AFMs over several years and why their stress increases or decreases. A three-year longitudinal qualitative study. Four rounds of in-depth, semi-structured individual interviews were conducted. Twenty-four students drew a stress graph. They scored their stress levels from the first interview in 2019/2020 to the last two years later on a 10-point scale and explained why their stress increased or decreased. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was applied. We distinguished four patterns of stress: stress remained stable (high or low; = 3), stress increased over time ( = 5), stress decreased over time ( = 10), and stress had erratic highs and lows ( = 6). For most participants, stress related to their relatives' addiction problems was high and highly dynamic. We found factors associated with the direct stress of life with relatives with addiction problems, such as recovery, relapse, aggression, incidents, and accidents. We also found indirect effects, such as trust, intimacy issues, stressors related to education, work, coping strategies, and support. AFMs' stress persisted often over the long term, even after a relative died or contact was broken. Identifying reasons for stress increase or decrease might help AFMs, healthcare professionals, and educational professionals who want to support AFMs in managing their stress.
有成瘾问题亲属的家庭成员（通常被称为受影响家庭成员[AFMs]）会经历潜在的创伤性事件，包括心理暴力、身体暴力、性暴力、亲属因成瘾导致的死亡或事故。本研究探讨了年轻成年AFMs在几年间压力的发展情况以及他们的压力增加或减少的原因。这是一项为期三年的纵向定性研究。进行了四轮深入的半结构化个人访谈。24名学生绘制了压力图。他们对自己从2019/2020年第一次访谈至两年后的最后一次访谈期间的压力水平进行了10分制评分，并解释了压力增加或减少的原因。采用了解释现象学分析方法。我们区分出四种压力模式：压力保持稳定（高或低；=3），压力随时间增加（=5），压力随时间减少（=10），以及压力有不稳定的高低起伏（=6）。对于大多数参与者来说，与亲属成瘾问题相关的压力很大且变化剧烈。我们发现了与有成瘾问题亲属的生活直接压力相关的因素，如康复、复发、攻击行为、事件和事故。我们还发现了间接影响，如信任、亲密关系问题、与教育、工作、应对策略和支持相关的压力源。AFMs的压力往往长期持续，即使在亲属去世或断绝联系之后。确定压力增加或减少的原因可能有助于AFMs、医疗保健专业人员以及想要帮助AFMs管理压力的教育专业人员。
