‘Things that you can’t really suppress’: Adverse childhood experiences in the narratives of people with opioid use disorder
While numerous studies have established relationships between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and adult substance use, few qualitative studies have explored the differing ways in which experiences of childhood adversity are emplotted into narratives of drug use and recovery. This paper analyzes...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | SSM - Mental Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560322001256 |
| _version_ | 1797797919749832704 |
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| author | Sydney M. Silverstein Josef Rivera Danielle Gainer Raminta Daniulaityte |
| author_facet | Sydney M. Silverstein Josef Rivera Danielle Gainer Raminta Daniulaityte |
| author_sort | Sydney M. Silverstein |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While numerous studies have established relationships between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and adult substance use, few qualitative studies have explored the differing ways in which experiences of childhood adversity are emplotted into narratives of drug use and recovery. This paper analyzes qualitative data collected as part of a mixed-methods longitudinal study of people with opioid use disorder. Narratives of adverse childhood experiences emerged unprompted. After coding qualitative data for mention of ACEs, we thematically analyzed coded data using a framework of critical phenomenology and constructed a four-part typology to differentiate the ways that ACEs were emplotted into narratives. Our four sub-types—which we call ‘haunted by trauma’, ‘seeking redemption’, ‘casual mentioners’, and ‘reckoning with inevitability’—did not necessarily cleave along types or number of ACEs, but rather by the manners in which these experiences were conditioned by subsequent life trajectories, and the social, structural, and interpersonal factors that contextualized them. While participants often linked experiences of childhood adversity to adult opioid use, we argue that the differing ways in which individuals understand and process these linkages has implications for both clinical and therapeutic practice. For frameworks like trauma-informed care to be meaningful, we must pay closer attention to these meaningful differences. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T03:55:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-10f6cbf890b343f78e09bd785c9ef682 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-5603 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T03:55:32Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SSM - Mental Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-10f6cbf890b343f78e09bd785c9ef6822023-06-22T05:05:30ZengElsevierSSM - Mental Health2666-56032023-12-013100185‘Things that you can’t really suppress’: Adverse childhood experiences in the narratives of people with opioid use disorderSydney M. Silverstein0Josef Rivera1Danielle Gainer2Raminta Daniulaityte3Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, USA; Center for Interventions, Treatment, and Addictions Research, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, USA; Corresponding author. 2555 University Blvd, Suite 200, Dayton, OH, 45324, USA.Center for Interventions, Treatment, and Addictions Research, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, USACenter for Interventions, Treatment, and Addictions Research, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, USAArizona State University College of Health Solutions, USAWhile numerous studies have established relationships between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and adult substance use, few qualitative studies have explored the differing ways in which experiences of childhood adversity are emplotted into narratives of drug use and recovery. This paper analyzes qualitative data collected as part of a mixed-methods longitudinal study of people with opioid use disorder. Narratives of adverse childhood experiences emerged unprompted. After coding qualitative data for mention of ACEs, we thematically analyzed coded data using a framework of critical phenomenology and constructed a four-part typology to differentiate the ways that ACEs were emplotted into narratives. Our four sub-types—which we call ‘haunted by trauma’, ‘seeking redemption’, ‘casual mentioners’, and ‘reckoning with inevitability’—did not necessarily cleave along types or number of ACEs, but rather by the manners in which these experiences were conditioned by subsequent life trajectories, and the social, structural, and interpersonal factors that contextualized them. While participants often linked experiences of childhood adversity to adult opioid use, we argue that the differing ways in which individuals understand and process these linkages has implications for both clinical and therapeutic practice. For frameworks like trauma-informed care to be meaningful, we must pay closer attention to these meaningful differences.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560322001256AddictionAdverse childhood experiencesACEsOpioid use disorderNarrativesQualitative |
| spellingShingle | Sydney M. Silverstein Josef Rivera Danielle Gainer Raminta Daniulaityte ‘Things that you can’t really suppress’: Adverse childhood experiences in the narratives of people with opioid use disorder SSM - Mental Health Addiction Adverse childhood experiences ACEs Opioid use disorder Narratives Qualitative |
| title | ‘Things that you can’t really suppress’: Adverse childhood experiences in the narratives of people with opioid use disorder |
| title_full | ‘Things that you can’t really suppress’: Adverse childhood experiences in the narratives of people with opioid use disorder |
| title_fullStr | ‘Things that you can’t really suppress’: Adverse childhood experiences in the narratives of people with opioid use disorder |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Things that you can’t really suppress’: Adverse childhood experiences in the narratives of people with opioid use disorder |
| title_short | ‘Things that you can’t really suppress’: Adverse childhood experiences in the narratives of people with opioid use disorder |
| title_sort | things that you can t really suppress adverse childhood experiences in the narratives of people with opioid use disorder |
| topic | Addiction Adverse childhood experiences ACEs Opioid use disorder Narratives Qualitative |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560322001256 |
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