Att vara partner till någon med missbruksproblematik - en tematisk analys av diskussionsforum på nätet

Sammanfattning: In our qualitative study we examined various public online discussion forums in order to shed light on the experiences of partners to people suffering from problematic alcohol and substance abuse. Doing so we encountered numerous stories of shame, blame, hope and despair. Our ambition was to contribute to the existing knowledge of the family perspective in the area of concern, something we believe is beneficial to social work. Our results showed that the presence of abuse changes how the family and its members function altogether. Many people are willing to compromise their life to such an extent that they lose themselves in the struggle of keeping the family on their feet. Strong feelings of guilt toward their partner and children were expressed as well as shame in relation to their own situation. We also found that partners often refrain from seeking professional support. For some it is too much to handle and accept that it could possibly be something wrong with their family. Results concerning the blame expressed by forum users showed that complete strangers in many ways are willing to stigmatize those in need, especially when there are children involved. For our theoretical framework, we used Murray Bowen’s family systems theory, Goffman’s theory of stigma as well as Thomas J. Scheff’s theories of shame for the analysis of the examined material.