Addiction across substance use, gambling, and screen: a scoping review of coping strategies adopted by concerned significant others

Background A loved one's addiction to substance use (alcohol or drugs), gambling, or screen use (e.g. gaming, social media) has significant impact on the quality of life of concerned significant others (CSOs), affecting various aspects of their daily lives. As a result, CSOs implement a range of coping strategies to deal with their loved one's addiction and to try to preserve their personal and family well-being. Several studies have focused on the strategies used by CSOs, but none have provided a comprehensive overview of CSO's experiences of coping across substance use, gambling, or screen-related addiction contexts.Methods A scoping review was conducted to provide a comprehensive overview of the coping strategies used by CSOs of adults whose loved ones experience substance use, gambling, or screen-related addiction. It also sought to extend the previous mapping of coping strategies among CSOs of individuals with gambling problems developed by Côté et al. (2018), by broadening its scope to include substance use and screen-related addictions. To do so, a systematic search was conducted across six databases: PsycINFO, Medline, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, SocIndex, Cinahl Complete, and Health and Psychosocial Instruments.Results Among the 64 included studies, most focused on CSOs of individuals with substance use (64%) or gambling (26%), with fewer addressing co-occurring substance use and gambling (6%) and screen-related addiction (3%). Findings indicate that CSOs rely on a broad range of coping strategies aimed at either influencing the loved one's addiction-related behaviours or enhancing personal, couple, or family well-being, alongside emerging strategies not previously captured in existing frameworks. Despite some nuances, the results reveal a trend toward uniformity in coping strategies used by CSOs in substance use and gambling contexts. Evidence on coping strategies used by CSOs in screen-related addiction remains more limited, and comparability with substance use and gambling contexts is less established.Conclusions CSOs demonstrate active engagement in managing the impacts of addiction through coping strategies that address both the recovery process of their loved ones and the preservation of family and relational well-being, highlighting their central role in the broader addiction context.Clinical trial number Not applicable.