A Long-term Follow-up Study of Drug-Dependent Mothers and Children

描述（由申请人提供）：药物依赖的母亲和他们的孩子的长期跟踪研究项目摘要滥用酒精和非法药物导致严重的健康问题的母亲和他们的孩子。此外，母亲吸毒和受影响的养育行为可能对儿童的福祉产生重要的长期影响。近年来，越来越多的妇女专用方案提供特殊服务，以解决滥用药物母亲的独特问题和服务需求，包括儿童保育和养育服务。然而，很少有研究审查在妇女专用方案中服务的母亲和儿童的短期和长期结果。一些现有的研究表明，与混合性别方案相比，仅限女性的方案通常具有积极的影响（例如，更多的治疗保留或完成），但这些研究仅限于短期观察，没有一项报告儿童的结果。更好地了解与妇女专用和混合性别方案相关的母亲及其子女的长期结果，有助于改善现有的服务和干预措施，以预防或减轻这些母亲滥用药物的不良后果。我们建议对4,500名通过行政记录接受药物滥用治疗的母亲进行长期随访研究，并通过采访母亲的子样本（n =1,000）来提供有关其状况的补充数据。此外，对于725名符合条件的母亲，我们将收集目标儿童（大多数为7至9岁）的评估数据。拟议的后续研究将使我们能够审查这些母亲的长期状况，以及关于她们的子女在2000年至2002年期间接受仅限妇女方案与混合性别方案中的指数治疗的母亲的一些有限信息。这项研究的具体目的是：（1）调查母亲的长期结果，通过行政记录（例如，药物治疗、精神健康、逮捕）与其在仅限女性方案和混合性别方案中的指数治疗的关系;和（2）找到并采访一部分母亲，以确定与妇女单独与混合性别方案中母亲的指数治疗有关的（2a）母亲的现状（2b）儿童现状（监护、学业成绩、行为问题）。拟议的准实验性研究应提供具有治疗和政策影响的经验数据，以改善对滥用药物的母亲及其子女的服务和结果。这项研究还将为今后深入调查这些有药物滥用史的母亲的子女奠定基础。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A Long-term Follow-up Study of Drug-Dependent Mothers and Their Children Project Summary Abuse of alcohol and illicit drugs causes serious health problems for mothers and their children. Furthermore, maternal drug use and impacted parenting behaviors can have important long-term effects on children's well-being. In recent years, increased numbers of women-only programs have offered special services to address the unique problems and service needs among substance-abusing mothers, including child care and parenting services. However, few studies have examined short-term and long-term outcomes of mothers and children served in women-only programs. Some existing studies have indicated generally positive effects of women-only programs compared to the mixed-gender programs (e.g., greater treatment retention or completion), but these studies are restricted to short-term observations, and none have reported children's outcomes. A better understanding of the long-term outcomes among mothers and their children associated with women-only and mixed-gender programs can help to improve existing services and interventions to prevent or ameliorate the adverse consequences associated with substance abuse by these mothers. We propose to conduct a long-term follow-up study of 4,500 mothers treated for substance abuse via their administrative records, and by interviewing a subsample of mothers (n =1,000) to provide complementary data on their status. Additionally, for a subset of 725 eligible mothers, we will collect assessment data on the target children (mostly aged 7 to 9). The proposed follow-up study will allow us to examine the long-term status of these mothers and some limited information about their children in relation to mothers' admission between 2000 and 2002 to the index treatment in women-only versus mixed-gender programs. The specific aims of the study are: (1) to investigate mothers' long-term outcomes measured by administrative records (e.g., drug treatment, mental health, arrest) in relation to their index treatment in women-only versus mixed-gender programs; and (2) to locate and interview a subset of mothers to determine, in relation to mothers' index treatment in women-only versus mixed-gender programs, (2a) mothers' current status (social support, parenting behaviors, drug use, mental health) and (2b) children's current status (custody, school achievement, behavioral problems). The proposed quasi-experimental study should provide empirical data with treatment and policy implications for improving services and outcomes for substance-abusing mothers and their children. The study will also lay the foundation for future in-depth investigation of the children of these mothers with histories of substance abuse.