Handicaps in the seach for social support for families with addiction problems

Alcohol and drug abuse is a social phenomenon that generates great concern, impotence, uncertainty and depression as well as different negative conseq uences on the emotional and physical health of those who live closely with this problem. For this reason, the family studies are nowadays relevant. Research results indicate that the availability os social support resources for these families to cope with this problem are related to a higher level of wellbeing. However, there are different factors limiting their access t o the attention services and to the different sources of formal and informa l support. These support resources are not enough, as family members should also have a favorable perception of them and believe that they are actuall y useful. The objective of this paper is to analyze what prevents relatives from seek ing help for physical and psychological health problems that appear as cons equences of coping with the substance abuse of a relative, and also prevent ing them from seeking help for the user as well. The families interviewed w ere contacted through specialized treatment agencies and from the community itself (n =100). The information was analyzed following a qualitative appr oach according to the Grounded Theory. The main category for this work was the social support received by the family, with emphasis on the factors tha t prevent them from seeking social support. Nearly half of the relatives interviewed had never sought professional help . The reasons for that way be different and interrelated going from an indi vidual microlevel to a wider macrosocial context, which includes cultural a spects related to myths, traditions, beliefs and values around the notion o f gender and family. These concepts define the patterns of action followed to solve the problem, which include the traditional roles, unability to rec ognize alcohol use as a prolem, fear of communicating the problem to others in orde to cope with this problem only within the family, shame of having an addict relative, greater tolerance to alcohol use compared to drug use, etc. Finally, the implications of these findings regarding health policy ma king aimed at providing family treatment, are discussed.