title: Children of mothers with serious substance abuse problems: an accumulation of risks.
abstract: This study examines the life circumstances and experiences of 4084 children affected by maternal addiction to alcohol or other drugs. The paper will address the characteristics of their caregivers, the multiple risk factors faced by these children, their health and development, and their school performance. Data were collected from mothers at intake into 50 publicly funded residential substance abuse treatment programs for pregnant and parenting women. Findings from this study suggest that children whose mothers abuse alcohol or other drugs confront a high level of risk and are at increased vulnerability for physical, academic, and social-emotional problems. Children affected by maternal addiction are in need of long-term supportive services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas, USA. connersnicolaa@uams.edu
authors.forename: Nicola A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Conners
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.forename: Leanne Whiteside
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Mansell
authors.forename: Jeffrey Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Tracy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Burgdorf
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Herrell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D011247:Pregnancy; D012112:Residential Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology