Family members affected by a relative's substance misuse looking for social support: who are they?

BACKGROUND: This study proposes to describe family members in the city of Sao Paulo who are seeking support in mutual self-help groups to deal with a substance misusing relative. METHOD: Five hundred participants (one participant per family) completed a structured questionnaire collecting socio-demographic information, length of time taken to seek help, and where they sought help. Participants were recruited from the mutual self-help group 'Amor Exigente' in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. RESULTS: Parents of substance misusers counted as the largest group of family members. It took an average time of 3.7 years for the family members to discover their relatives' substance misuse. 42% had then sought help immediately; it took an average of 2.6 years for the remaining 58% of the sample to seek some form of support. A belief that the substance misuse of their relatives was just a transient problem or that they could cope with the situation by themselves were among the most indicated reasons for delay in seeking help. DISCUSSION: Findings stress the importance of implementing services that take into account the difficulties families have in finding help to deal with the substance misusing relative.

Brief report: A socio-demographic profile of multiparous teenage mothers.

OBJECTIVE: Delineate a socio-demographic profile of multiparous teenage mothers at a public hospital in Brazil. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study consisting of 915 interviews with teenage girls, including 170 multiparous subjects whose babies were born alive. RESULTS: The multiparous teenage mothers had the following average characteristics: 17.8 years old; first pregnancy at 16 years; beginning of sexual life at 14.2 years; dropped out of school at 13.6 years; attended school for 6 years with only 10% still attending school when they were interviewed; 87.4% had prenatal exams; monthly income was reported to be 0.3% less than the national minimum salary. CONCLUSION: Teenage mothers are in need of better social, educational, and health care in order to have a greater chance of a positive motherhood experience, thereby creating a better, healthier environment for their children.