INCARCERATED ADDICT MOTHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN

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This study proposes to evaluate the separate and combined impact of interventions provided to 240 10-to 14-year old children and their incarcerated African-American mothers who have been addicted to narcotics during the child's lifetime. The effort will provide a newly developed psychoeducational coping skill intervention for the children, and a standardized parenting skills program for both the addict inmate mothers and for the caretakers who are responsible for the children during the mother's incarceration. This prevention intervention approach is designed to impact three major areas: 1) The child's pro-social development, including the avoidance of substance abuse, the development of positive life options, and the child's ability to deal with the traumatic aspects of his/her mother's addiction career and the loss of her presence due to incarceration; 2) The parenting ability of the mother and thus, ultimately, the satisfactory functioning of the mother-child relationship or bond; and 3) The parenting skills of the current caretakers as they aid the children in their current adjustment and functioning. Self-report, behavioral, and psychometric assessments will provide outcome data on the children, their addict mothers, and their caretakers at pre- and post- intervention, and 12 months following enrollment in the program.