Experiences and coping strategies of parents living with adolescents misusing nyaope substance

Abstract

Background: Nyaope is a South African substance whose usage continues to escalate among young people. Regrettably, the negative effects of this scourge impact not only the misusers but also their parents who unavoidably have to endure the problems associated with their adolescents’ dependence.

Aim: The study sought to explore the experiences and coping strategies of parents living with adolescents who misuse nyaope.

Setting: The study was undertaken in Soshanguve township, situated in the north of the city of Tshwane in the Gauteng province of South Africa.

Methods: Using a qualitative approach, the study adopted dimensions of both explorative and descriptive designs to develop an in-depth understanding of experiences and coping strategies of parents living with adolescents who misuse nyaope in Soshanguve Township. Individual face-to-face semistructured interviews through purposive sampling were conducted by the researchers to collect data from eight parents of such adolescents.

Results: Three themes emerged, namely parents’ experiences of how they detected the onset of the adolescents’ misuse of nyaope, effects of adolescents’ misuse of nyaope on parents and family as a whole and parents’ coping strategies in dealing with the adolescents.

Conclusion: From the shared stories, it is evident that parents are overly concerned about the extent of damage cause by adolescents’ misuse of nyaope within the family system.

Contribution: This study will enable scholars in the field of substance misuse to conduct further research on the phenomenon and generate new knowledge that will contribute towards formulating future policies and implementing new intervention strategies.