title: Eighteen-month follow-up data on a treatment program for homeless substance abusing mothers.
abstract: In response to the dearth of data on substance abuse treatment among homeless mothers, this study breaks new ground in presenting 18-month follow-up data on 149 homeless mothers with young children enlisted in a substance abuse treatment program. The effects of residential compared to nonresidential services were evaluated over the follow-up period. Although dropout rates were high, predictors of dropout were identified, and the residential had a lower dropout rate compared to the nonresidential comparison group. Members of both residential and nonresidential groups evidenced improvement in alcohol and drug problems and in housing stability, regardless of the amount of time they spent in the program. This project demonstrated that homeless mothers can be more successfully engaged in substance abuse programs with provisions of residential placement in addition to participation in a therapeutic community. Future interventions can take advantage of this knowledge in designing more effective programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: North
authors.forename: L W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Fox
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003631:Day Care, Medical; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010343:Patient Admission; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000523:psychology; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome