Assessment of Stress and Coping Strategies among the Family Members of Substance Abuse Patients Attending the Psychiatric OPD of Selected Hospital Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal

Background: Substance use is a serious health problem of individual, family and community. Substance abuse, particularly alcohol abuse cannabis binge and opioids abuse are a widespread problem that has caused disturbance in many families around the world. The family members of substance abuse often face the most severe consequences. The family members may experience a range of negative emotions, including stress, anxiety and shame due to their loved one?s addiction. Objectives: The aim of the study is to assess stress and coping strategies of family members of substance abuse patients and find out the relationship among them. Method: A descriptive survey research was conducted at psychiatric outpatient department at selected hospital, West Bengal. The conceptual framework was based on sister Calista?s ? Roy?s adaptation model?. Total 270 family members of patients with substance abuse were selected by non probability purposive sampling technique. Semi-structured interview schedule, Perceived Stress Scale and Brief Cope Scale were used respectively to collect data. Result: The findings revealed that stress had statistically significant strong negative correlation with coping mechanisms of family members. Total 2.96% respondents had low level stress, 67.78 % had moderate level stress and 29.25 % had high level of perceived stress. The coping score and stress score are negatively related. The findings of the study have implication for nursing education, administration, practice and research. It is recommended that a similar study can be conducted on large sample for wider generalization and an awareness programme can be done on coping strategies of caregivers to reduce caregiving burden.