- New survey shines light on the impact of addiction on UK families
- Priory launches ‘Break the Chain’ campaign to raise awareness of intergenerational addiction and encourage people to seek support
A new national survey commissioned by Priory has found that 1 in 6 people (17%) say someone in their family is currently living with addiction – yet most of those affected haven’t received any professional help (62%).*
The findings point to a major unmet need for addiction support across the UK, particularly when it comes to recognising and addressing intergenerational trauma. Addiction often plays out across multiple generations of the same family, with patterns of behaviour and emotional coping mechanisms passed down over time.
Priory’s ‘Break the Chain’ campaign is aiming to raise awareness of intergenerational addiction and encouraging people to seek support before reaching crisis point.
The new data reveals that 15% of people in the UK feel addiction has affected multiple generations of their family, underlining the long-term impact and deep-rooted nature of the issue. For people who have sought support for addiction in the last three years, half (50%) say addiction has affected multiple generations of their family.
The new research follows the latest NHS figures, which show that more adults are now in contact with drug and alcohol treatment services than at any time in over a decade. In 2023/24, 310,863 people in England were receiving support – the highest number recorded since 2009.** Recent analysis from Alcohol Health Alliance UK has also suggested that deaths from alcohol were at record high in England.***
The new survey of 2,000 UK adults also found that:
- 26% worry about a loved one’s drinking
- 16% worry about a loved one’s drug use
- 17% have sought support for their own addiction in the last three years
- 24% have tried to help a loved one access support for addiction
Mum-of-two Helen, 55, explains how her drinking escalated slowly and silently, shaped by a traumatic childhood.
“Alcohol is very patient. It waits until it knows it has a way in. I built a life that looked perfect from the outside, but inside I was unravelling. I didn’t realise I was repeating the chaos I grew up with. It wasn’t until I hit my rock bottom that I said to my husband, ‘I need to go to Priory.’ That decision saved my life, and I’m so proud to have broken the chain of addiction.”
Jordan, 30, who entered treatment in 2024 after years of cocaine addiction, said the grief of losing his father – who also struggled with addiction – pushed him toward substance use.
“My life has started again from scratch. I feel emotions now. I can deal with them. My dad was an alcoholic, and I grew up thinking it was normal. When he died, I spiralled. I was spending all my money on drugs and lying to everyone including my mum and my partner. When it all collapsed, I thought I’d just detox and hide. But Priory gave me more than a clean break, it gave me hope, structure, and people who understood. When I was going through treatment, I realised my dad had an illness too, and that helped me start forgiving him, and myself.”
Kit, 41, now sober for nearly five years, turned to alcohol, drugs and extreme behaviour to cope with unspoken childhood issues.
“Being me was too painful, so I became someone else. I grew up in a household where emotional pain was constant and never spoken about. I began to self-medicate at university. I spent over 20 years pretending - travelling to new cities with new faces and running from myself. When I finally got help, I realised recovery wasn’t just about stopping the drink and drugs. It was about breaking a cycle I didn’t even know I was in, confronting trauma, feeling my feelings and allowing myself to be me. Today, I work for Priory, and share with people what was shared with me in treatment: “ you only have to change one thing: change everything. I did, and it saved my life.”
Dr Niall Campbell, a Priory consultant psychiatrist who provides addiction treatment at Priory Hospital Roehampton, said:
“We’ve seen enquiries for our addiction services increase by almost 40% since 2019, reflecting the growing pressure individuals and families are facing. In response, we’ve developed a range of new services and programmes – from flexible outpatient options to online support tools – offering evidence-based care that supports every aspect of a person’s physical, emotional and mental health.
“While the causes of addiction are complex, we know it can affect families across multiple generations. We often work with individuals like Jordan, Helen and Kit, who’ve had really difficult and traumatic early life experiences. Our message is simple: recovery is possible – and with the right support, it is absolutely possible to break the chain,”
With long NHS wait times and limited specialist services, many families are turning to private providers for timely support.
Priory is the largest provider of mental health, addiction and working-age adult social care services in the UK caring for more than 26,000 people a year across 270 sites. Priory offers a range of addiction services including inpatient and outpatient programmes tailored to each person’s needs.
If you're concerned about your own drinking or drug use – or someone else's – visit priorygroup.com/breakthechain
ENDS
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: [email protected]
About Priory and MEDIAN Group
Priory is the UK’s largest independent provider of mental health and adult social care services. Priory treats more than 70 conditions, including depression, anxiety, addictions and eating disorders, as well as children’s mental health, across its nationwide network of sites. Priory also supports autistic adults and adults with a learning disability, Prader-Willi Syndrome and brain injuries, as well as older people, within specialist residential care and supported living facilities – helping as many people as possible to live their lives.
Priory is part of the MEDIAN Group, the leading European provider of high-quality mental health and rehabilitation services. The MEDIAN Group comprises: Priory in the UK with 270 facilities and 4,300 beds caring for 26,000 people, MEDIAN in Germany with 120 facilities and 18,100 beds caring for 283,000 patients, and Hestia in Spain with 13 facilities and 2,000 beds caring for 10,000 people in Spain, with more than 31,000 employees across the group.
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*The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2000 nationally representative consumers (18+). 339 respondents reported seeking support for addition within the last three years. The data was collected between 15.08.2025 - 19.08.2025.
Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
**Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (OHID): Adult substance misuse treatment statistics 2023 to 2024: report. Published 28 November 2024. View here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/substance-misuse-treatment-for-adults-statistics-2023-to-2024/adult-substance-misuse-treatment-statistics-2023-to-2024-report
*** Analysis by the Alcohol Health Alliance of government data. Published on December 19th 2024. View here: https://ahauk.org/news/ahalettertohealthsec