Sponsorship is a key feature of traditional drug and alcohol self-help groups. It is a source of interpersonal support provided by an individual who is in a more advanced stage of recovery to an individual at an earlier stage of recovery. Whilst it is widely recognised that sponsorship is beneficial to the person receiving it, little is known about the psychological and social benefits that sponsors derive from providing sponsorship to others. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 36 long-term self-help users (6 months−10 years) with experience of sponsoring the recovery of others, recruited from three traditional types of self-help groups in the North of England. Interviews examined sponsors’ experiences of providing sponsorship within their own recovery process. Sponsors reported that providing sponsorship to others increased their own self-awareness, social skills, and social competence when it came to engaging with others. In addition, sponsors derived an increased sense of psychological wellbeing and positive social approval from helping others. Over the longer term, sponsorship becomes a meaningful and purposeful activity as it allows those providing it to be productive, make meaning and maintain a non-addicted identity. Additionally, sponsorship is a process which is beneficial for those who have little access to wider social networks.

Amphetamine Type Stimulants (ATS) are increasingly used drugs globally. There is limited evidence about what shapes ATS use at critical turning points located within drug using pathways. Using turning point theory, as part of a life course approach, the ATTUNE study aimed to understand which social, economic and individual factors shape pathways into and out of ATS use. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews (n = 70) were undertaken with individuals who had used ATS, or had been exposed to them at least once. Our findings show that turning points for initiation were linked to pleasure, curiosity, boredom and declining mental health; increased use was linked to positive effects experienced at initiation and multiple life-stressors, leading to more intense use. Decreased use was prompted by pivotal events and sustained through continued wellbeing, day-to-day structure, and non-using social networks. We argue that the heterogeneity of these individuals challenges stereotypes of stimulant use allied to nightclubs and ‘hedonism’. Further, at critical turning points for recovery, the use of services for problematic ATS consumption was low because users prioritised their alcohol or opioid use when seeking help. There is a need to develop service provision, training, and better outreach to individuals who need support at critical turning points.

Background: Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) are the second most commonly used illicit drugs in Europe and globally. However, there is limited understanding of what shapes patterns of ATS use over the life course. The ATTUNE project “Understanding Pathways to Stimulant Use: a mixed methods examination of the individual, social and cultural factors shaping illicit stimulant use across Europe” aims to fill this gap. Here we report initial findings from the life course chart exercise conducted as part of qualitative interviews with ATS users and nonusers. Methods: Two hundred seventy-nine in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with five ATS user groups (current and former dependent users;current and former frequent users;non-frequent users) and one group of exposed non-ATS users in five European countries (Germany, UK, Poland, Netherlands and Czech Republic). As part of the interviews, we used life course charts to capture key life events and substance use histories. Life events were categorised as either positive, neutral or negative, and associated data were analysed systematically to identify differences between user groups. We applied statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to test for group differences. Results: Out of 3547 life events documented, 1523 life events were categorised as neutral, 1005 life events as positive and 1019 life events as negative. Current and formerly dependent ATS users showed more negative life events for the entire life course after age adjustment. Although some group differences could be attributed to the individuals’ life course prior to first ATS use, most negative life events were associated with periods of ATS usage. A detailed analysis of the specific life domains reveals that dominantly, the social environment was affected by negative life events. Conclusions: For non-dependent, frequent and non-frequent ATS users, negative life events from the period of ATS use do not become obvious in our analysed data. Besides preventing a pathway into ATS dependency, the aim of an intervention should be to reduce the harm by for example drug testing which offers also the opportunity for interventions to prevent developing a substance use dependency. For the group of dependent ATS users, our study suggests holistic, tailored interventions and specialist treatment services are needed, as a single, simple intervention is unlikely to cover all the life domains affected.

Background and aim: Parental substance use is a major public health and safeguarding concern. There have been a number of trials examining interventions targeting this risk factor. We aimed to estimate the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions at reducing parental substance use.Design: We used systematic methods to identify trials; pooling data using a random‐effects model. Moderator analyses examined influence of parent gender, presence of child in treatment and intervention type.Setting: No restrictions on setting.Participants: Substance using parents of children below the age of 21 years.Interventions: Psychosocial interventions including those that targeted drug and alcohol use only, and drug and alcohol use in combination with associated issues.Measurements: Frequency of alcohol use and frequency of drug use.Findings: We included eight unique studies with a total of 703 participants. Psychosocial interventions were more effective at reducing the frequency of parental alcohol use than comparison conditions at 6‐month [standardized mean difference (SMD) = – 0.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) = –0.51 to −0.13, P = 0.001] and 12‐month follow‐up (SMD = –0.25, 95% CI = –0.47 to −0.03, P = 0.02) and frequency of parental drug use at 12 months only (SMD = –0.21, 95% CI = –0.41 to −0.01, P = 0.04). Integrated interventions which combined both parenting and substance use targeted components were effective at reducing the frequency of alcohol use (6 months: SMD = –0.56, 95% CI = –0.96 to −0.016, P = 0.006; 12 months: SMD = –0.42, 95% CI = –0.82 to −0.03, P = 0.04) and drug use (6 months: SMD = –0.39, 95% CI = –0.75 to −0.03, P = 0.04; 12 months: SMD = –0.43, 95% CI = –0.80 to −0.07, P = 0.02). Interventions targeting only substance use or parenting skills were not effective at reducing frequency of alcohol or drug use at either time‐point.Conclusion: Psychosocial interventions should target both parenting and substance use in an integrated intervention.