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

描述(申请人提供)：一项对依赖药物的母亲及其子女的长期跟踪研究项目摘要酗酒和非法药物的滥用给母亲及其子女造成严重的健康问题。此外，母亲吸毒和受影响的育儿行为可能会对儿童的福祉产生重要的长期影响。近年来，越来越多的专门针对妇女的方案提供了特殊服务，以解决滥用药物的母亲的独特问题和服务需求，包括儿童保育和育儿服务。然而，很少有研究考察在仅限妇女的项目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，仅限妇女的方案总体上有积极的影响(例如，更大的治疗保留率或完成率)，但这些研究仅限于短期观察，没有一项报告儿童的结果。更好地了解妇女专用方案和混合性别方案对母亲及其子女造成的长期后果，有助于改善现有的服务和干预措施，以防止或改善与这些母亲滥用药物有关的不良后果。我们建议对4,500名接受药物滥用治疗的母亲进行长期跟踪研究，通过她们的行政记录，并通过采访1,000名母亲的子样本来提供关于她们状况的补充数据。此外，对于725名符合条件的母亲，我们将收集目标儿童(主要是7至9岁)的评估数据。拟议的后续研究将使我们能够检查这些母亲的长期状况以及关于她们孩子的一些有限信息，这些信息与2000至2002年间母亲进入仅限妇女治疗与混合性别治疗计划的指数有关。这项研究的具体目的是：(1)调查通过行政记录衡量的母亲的长期结果(例如，药物治疗、精神健康、逮捕)与她们在仅限女性方案和混合性别方案中的指数治疗的关系；以及(2)定位和访谈一组母亲，以确定(2a)母亲的当前状况(社会支持、育儿行为、药物使用、心理健康)和(2b)儿童的当前状况(监护权、学业成绩、行为问题)。拟议的准实验研究应为改善药物滥用母亲及其子女的服务和结果提供具有治疗和政策意义的经验数据。这项研究还将为未来对这些有药物滥用史的母亲的孩子进行深入调查奠定基础。

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.