Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs

Children and adolescents living with parental substance use problems (PSUP) are at potential risk of developing cognitive, behavioral, psychosocial and emotional difficulties affecting their health. However, little is known about how they themselves understand and promote their own health and well-being. This meta-ethnography aims to integrate and synthesize qualitative studies that have explored – from a salutogenic health-promoting perspective – how adolescents living with PSUP express health promotion and well-being, focusing on resources for positive health.

The seven iterative phases by Noblit and Hare were followed. Systematic literature searches yielded 13 articles.

“Designing their own story” was identified as an overarching metaphor accentuated by three main themes that we named: (1) “controlling before opening up”; (2) “choosing trusted support”; and (3) “learning for life”. The overarching metaphor symbolizes how adolescents living with PSUP demonstrate agency in a stressful life situation, expressing a sense of control in everyday life and actively choosing whom to involve for support.

Supplementing protection and prevention, a different view on narrative of adolescents living with PSUP emerges in the conceptual framework of salutary health promotion. When support is offered, this can inform professionals, service providers and policymakers about the significance of acknowledging and exploring the resources within the adolescents themselves and in their environments. Further research is needed to gain a broader and deeper understanding of how to support adolescents living with PSUP in a health-promoting direction, recognizing their potential to improve their health and well-being in their stressful and challenging life situation.

The aim of this scoping review is to identify and describe patterns in personal narratives about the development of alcohol-related problems as presented in scientific health literature.

A systematic scoping review approach was applied to map and synthesize narrative patterns across the included studies. In total, 45 eligible studies were examined to capture how individuals describe the development of alcohol-related problems in health research.

Across the studies, four major narrative categories were identified: (1) Drinking as a way of coping with difficult thoughts; (2) Drinking as rooted in the body, the genes and the personality; (3) Drinking as a reaction to a stressful situation; and (4) Drinking as a cultural practice or habit.

The findings illustrate the complexity and variability of reasons behind alcohol-related problems. They highlight the importance of interventions that are sensitive to personal narratives, subjective experiences, and the diverse pathways leading to alcohol-related problems.

Patient self-determination and integrity are central to quality health care. In addiction treatment, patients encounter choices related to treatment options, yet little is known about how such choices are expressed in practice. The present study aimed to explore how treatment-related choices are expressed and in what situations they occur, from the perspectives of patients and healthcare staff.

A qualitative exploratory design was applied. Observations and interviews were conducted at a Swedish addiction day care unit over seven weeks. Data were analyzed using content analysis.

Choices emerged throughout the treatment process across different treatment arenas, from initial assessment to discharge. The analysis identified seven subthemes of choice, organized into two themes: (1) unconditional choices reflecting active involvement in treatment (considered choices, spontaneous choices, and delegated choices) and (2) conditional choices, reflecting more passive involvement (negotiated choices, menu choices, either-or choices and hindered choices).

Patients’ choices were shaped by their life circumstances and constrained by staff routines, organizational procedures and treatment policies. Emphasizing patient choice and health literacy during treatment may support informed decision-making and strengthen self-efficacy in maintaining a drug-free life. Future research is recommended to examine the gap between opportunities for choice and treatment routines and policies.

The present study discusses the addictive potential from vaping heuristically in view of existing research literature. We also paying attention to aayouth perspective in a Norwegian context.

The study compiled paradigmatic explanations of addiction and then conducted a narrative review of the sparse literature on vape addiction. We draw som conclusions based on the results from a number of review-based viewpoints.

Addiction to e-cigarettes or vapes is typically characterized by daily use, the first inhalation of the day occurring shortly after waking up, use of nicotine-containing e-liquid, continued use despite an expressed desire to abstain, acknowledgment that persistent use may lead to health harm and the experience of withdrawal symptoms following abrupt cessation. Higher frequency of use, longer duration of use, elevated nicotine concentration in the e-liquid, prior cigarette smoking and the use of pod-based e-cigarettes containing nicotine salts appear to be associated with a greater degree of dependence. Nicotine addiction among vapers may originate from previous smoking, although individuals without any smoking history also exhibit withdrawal symptoms. Overall, the level of addiction among vapers appears to be lower than that observed among smokers.

Among Norwegian youth, e-cigarette use is generally experimental, transient and infrequent, and the use of nicotine-free products is common. It is therefore likely that a small segment of young vapers meets established criteria for addiction. Nevertheless, irregular use in the early stages may evolve into more dependency-driven patterns of use over time.