Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to question the punitive approach towards substance dependent parents, especially substance dependent parents struggling with poverty, by outlining the complex ways in which poverty can shape reasoning, and hence capacities for self-control. I will outline two ways in which poverty can shape reasoning: a rational shift from a global to a local perspective, and a more invasive one: resignation. I will argue that when people with addictions become resigned, it is especially important to not hold a punitive approach, but to treat them with compassion while simultaneously bootstrapping their sense of agency. I will argue that having children can be an important turning point for people struggling with addiction, and possibly resignation. In order to successfully turn their lives around, they must feel comfortable to seek professional support without fear for retribution or stigma. This paradigm shift in how we treat substance dependent parents will be an important contribution to breaking the circle of intergenerational transmission of resignation, poverty and substance abuse.
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- 1.
See also the paper of Jonathan Wolff in this volume.
- 2.
Study participants completed a life-line interview at baseline in which they narrated their life story, and were followed up over a 3-year period (baseline in 2011, and successive 12 month follow-up episodes in 2012, 2013, and 2014). At baseline all participants were asked about their goals for the following year and any plans they had made to achieve their goals. During the follow-up interviews they were asked whether they succeeded in their plans, or what got in the way of their plans. Recruitment and interviewing took place in a public detoxification treatment and an opioid substitute treatment facility. Most people were from poorer socio-economic backgrounds. Interviews were recorded, fully transcribed verbatim, and analysed in NVivo. The studies were approved by the Human Research Committee of St Vincent’s Hospital and Macquarie University. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. They were reimbursed for their time and expertise.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the Australian Research Council (project DP 1094144 Addiction, Moral Identity and Moral Agency: Integrating Theoretical and Empirical Approaches) and by ZonMW, the Dutch Organisation for Health Research and Development (grant number: 731010016, Parents who are alcoholics). The author would like to thank Jeanette Kennett, Dorothee Horstkötter, Gottfried Schweiger and Nicolás Brando for their valuable feedback.
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Snoek, A. (2019). ‘I’ve Been Trying to Change My Life Heaps But I Always End Up Back Here’. The Complex Relationship Between Poverty, Parental Substance Dependency, and Self-Control. In: Brando, N., Schweiger, G. (eds) Philosophy and Child Poverty. Philosophy and Poverty, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22452-3_10
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