Abstract
This research project was a qualitative study that explored the risk and protective factors for adolescents who are growing up with a parent who is addicted to drugs and/or alcohol using a sample of eight participants. Specifically, this research looked at the possible protective factors that may help an adolescent from becoming addicted to drugs and/or alcohol themselves. Also, this research looked at the possible risk factors that may have helped an adolescent fall into addiction like his or her parents. In addition, the study explored possible behavioral patterns exhibited in adolescents who are growing up in a home with addiction and become addicted themselves. The themes that emerged from the data for risk factors for adolescents who grow up in a home with an addicted parent and who become addicted to drugs and/or alcohol themselves were a) parental chemical health modeling, b) traumatic experiences in adolescence and/or adulthood and c) genetic predisposition. In comparison, the themes that emerged for protective factors for adolescents who grow up in a home with an addicted parent and do not become addicted to drugs and/or alcohol were a) engagement with others and in activities, b) resilience and c) a faith in God. The predominant theme that emerged for the behavioral patterns of adolescents who grow up in an addicted home and become addicted to drugs and/or alcohol themselves was oppositional defiance. Overall, the data from this study had some similar findings as other research, but also provided new findings. It is imperative that clinicians continue to stay knowledgeable regarding the risk and protective factors for adolescents who are growing up in a home with parental addiction. Research showed that these factors are always changing and different for every adolescent. It is important for social workers to be aware of the diversity of these factors that could help or hinder an adolescent from following in their parent’s footsteps of addiction.