title: How can the general practitioner support adolescent children of ill or substance-abusing parents? A qualitative study among adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore significant experiences of adolescents as next of kin that the general practitioner (GP) should identify and recognize.
  
  
  METHODS
  Qualitative study with focus-group interviews.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three focus-group interviews were conducted with a total of 15 Norwegian adolescents each with an ill or substance-abusing parent. The participants were recruited from existing support groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The adolescents' days were dominated by unpredictability in their family situation and their own exhausting efforts to keep up an ordinary youth life. Mostly, they consulted GPs for somatic complaints. In encounters with the GP, they wanted to be met both as a unique person and as a member of a family with burdens. Their expectations from the GP were partly negatively formed by their experiences. Some had experienced that both their own and their parent's health problems were not addressed properly. Others reported that the GP did not act when he or she should have been concerned about their adverse life situation. The GP may contribute to better long-term psychosocial outcomes by ensuring that the adolescents receive information about the parent's illness and have someone to talk to about their feelings and experiences. In addition, the GP may help by supporting their participation in relieving activities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Burdened adolescents seek a GP most often for somatic complaints. The GP has a potential to support them by taking the initiative to talk about their life situation, and by recognizing their special efforts. Key points Little is known about how a general practitioner can support adolescents with ill or substance-abusing parents. Adolescents experience unpredictability in life and strive to find balance between their own needs and the restrictions caused by parental illness. In encounters with adolescents having ill parents, the GP should take the initiative to talk about their family situation. The GP may help them by recognizing their experiences and struggles, give information, offer talks and support coping strategies.
authors.affiliation: a Uni Research Health, Research Unit for General Practice , Bergen , Norway.|b Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care , University of Bergen , Bergen , Norway.
authors.forename: Frøydis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gullbrå
authors.affiliation: a Uni Research Health, Research Unit for General Practice , Bergen , Norway.
authors.forename: Tone
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Smith-Sivertsen
authors.affiliation: c Research Unit for General Practice , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark.
authors.forename: Anette Hauskov
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Graungaard
authors.affiliation: a Uni Research Health, Research Unit for General Practice , Bergen , Norway.|b Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care , University of Bergen , Bergen , Norway.
authors.forename: Guri
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rortveit
authors.affiliation: d Uni Research Health , Regional Research Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health West , Bergen , Norway.
authors.forename: Marit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hafting
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067697:Adolescent Health; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003376:Counseling; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D058005:General Practitioners; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D010290:Parents; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000628:therapy*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders
keywords: Children of impaired parents; Norway; adolescent health service; focus groups; general practice; general practitioners; health promotion; qualitative research