NCJ Number
169914
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 27 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1997) Pages: 585-606
Date Published
1997
Length
22 pages
Annotation
The impact of the living arrangement of the mother and baby on the drug treatment outcomes for the drug-abusing mother was studied using data collected from 86 women who received treatment at the Women's Residential Treatment Center in Orlando, Fla.
Abstract
Data were collected between October 1993 and January 1996. Information was collected on each mother's self-esteem, depression, parenting sense of competence, length of stay, and completion or noncompletion of treatment. Scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development were also examined with respect to the amount of time the baby spent with the mother, an arrangement that provided the child an opportunity to participate in the facility's therapeutic child care center. Findings suggested that the earlier a mother's infant lived with her in the treatment setting, the longer her length of stay would be and that a longer stay increased the opportunity for program completion. In addition, measures of depression were lower and measures of self-esteem were higher for women with their babies than for women who did not have their babies in the treatment facility. Scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development were within normal limits for all infants living with their mothers in treatment. Findings indicated that keeping the mother and baby together enhances drug treatment and promotes mother-infant bonding. Tables and 69 references (Author abstract modified)