Understanding the Whole Family
This review looks at the role of families in the lives of people with severe and multiple disadvantage. It considers the strengths and protective factors families can offer, and the barriers or problems that can have a negative impact. It also examines some implications for policy and practice.
Part three of a series of literature reviews on severe and multiple disadvantage, this expands on 2016’s Understanding the Whole Person by Terry and Cardwell. That review explored the common concepts for recovery and desistance across mental illness, substance misuse and criminology. It found that the role of the family was a common factor across all these fields.
This review brings together research on the role of families with regards to supporting and inhibiting positive outcomes for individuals with severe and multiple disadvantage. Taking a life-course approach, it explores the role of the family in prevention and early intervention, intervention and treatment, and the maintenance of recovery. It focuses on the following areas of disadvantage:
criminal behaviour
substance misuse
mental illness
homelessness
domestic violence and abuse.
We hope this paper provides a springboard for further conversations and research, moving the debate on from highly individualised perceptions of severe and multiple disadvantage. We hope it will lead to responses that are able to grapple with complex family dynamics and manage a variety of risks and protective factors. We also hope that it will result in the development of services that help those facing severe and multiple disadvantage and their families more effectively.
Our ultimate ambition is that these changes will achieve full family recovery and an end to what can otherwise become a vicious revolving door.
