Navigating Risk: A Multiple-Case Study Examining Maternal Awareness and Actions in Response to Adolescent Substance Use and Impaired Driving

Adolescent substance use and impaired driving behaviors are prevalent in Canada. While research has emphasized the influence of parents in protecting against these risky behaviors, insufficient research has investigated maternal perspectives on this issue. Accordingly, this paper presents a longitudinal multiple case study to examine maternal awareness of, beliefs about, and responses to adolescent substance use and impaired driving. The stories of four women, each of whom identified as a mother to multiple adolescent sons, form the basis of this qualitative investigation. Within- and cross-case analysis, employing both deductive and inductive logic, led to the identification of four consensually generated themes. Themes pertain to mothers’ experiences as a source of awareness, early awareness guiding maternal action, mothers reacting to change in awareness, and barriers between awareness and action. The themes are discussed through the lens of case evidence, theory, and research.