Where do all the spoons go? : perceptions of parents of adult heroin users

[From the introduction]:Research aims and objectivesThis thesis aims to discover what sorts of tensions (if any) were created for parents when their problematic drug using adult offspring were mandated into drug treatment programmes in the community, and when their offspring engaged with treatment in the prison setting. In addition, this research aims to develop an understanding about whether or not these types of intervention were welcomed by parents as a positive development towards addressing the problematic drug use of their offspring. Alternatively, did the involvement of the criminal justice system in drug treatment lead to additional or different difficulties for the parents? The objectives of the research are to analyse and interpret how the research participants (the parents of problematic drug users) experience the involvement of the criminal justice system in treating the problematic drug use of their offspring.This research does not consider whether or not the involvement of families in the treatment process of problematic drug users is effective, but rather this research investigates the application of policies that seek to involve parents in the treatment journey of problematic drug users. Moreover, this study does not attempt to offer an explanation for problematic drug use, or offer suggestions about how to encourage the parents of problematic drug users to become involved in the treatment process, or what alternatives exist for those without parents