What Do We Know About Informal Caregiving in the Field of Addiction?: A Scoping Review

Substance use disorder (SUD) and gambling disorder (GD) pose extensive challenges across various aspects of the affected person’s life and those around them, generating significant public health concerns. Evolving perspectives have led to a shift in nomenclature, with some authors adopting the term “caregivers” to diminish stigma and enhance service accessibility. This systematic literature review aims to offer a comprehensive overview of informal caregivers for adults with addictions. Analyzing 79 retained articles through a scoping review, encompassing both scientific and gray literature, five key findings emerged: 1) a lack of consensus on caregiving definitions; 2) caregivers' experienced stigma; 3) diverse forms of support provided by caregivers; 4) a prevalent emphasis on the concept of burden and caregiver exhaustion; and 5) specific caregiver and SUD/GD individual characteristics contributing to caregiver’s burden. Given the complexity of caregiving in addiction, further research is needed to delineate the context and conditions determining caregiving circumstances.