NCJ Number
213397
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 30 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2006 Pages: 145-156
Date Published
February 2006
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether there were differences in child abuse potential between mothers who used drugs during pregnancy and those who did not.
Abstract
Mothers who used substances during pregnancy were found to be no more at risk for abusing their children than nonusers with similar demographic backgrounds. There were no significant differences in child abuse potential scores between mothers who did not use substances, mothers who used substances but refused treatment, and mothers who used substances and accepted treatment for their use. During 1991 through 1995, 140 mothers of infants and toddlers were recruited from an urban setting in the Southeast to determine whether there were differences in child abuse potential between mothers who used drugs during pregnancy and those who did not. Specifically, whether there were changes in their child abuse potential scores over time. Using measures from the Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory a 160-item, self-report questionnaire designed to detect the potential for child abuse as measured by attitudes and feeling that are found in known child abusers. The mothers were divided into three groups, the treatment, refuser, and nonuser. Scheduled visits to the mother’s homes were made when the infants were 4,9,12,18, and 24 months and the mothers completed the CAP at each time. Research showed a large variability in child abuse potential scores in all three groups of mothers. Tables, references