Maternal cocaine addiction: Correlates and consequences.

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of addiction on mothers' ability to care for their children. Twenty-five cocaine-addicted mothers in a drug treatment center and twenty-five mothers of children in a Head Start program were individually interviewed. Each mother was questioned about: her pregnancy with a specific child (children's mean age = 3.2 years); the child's social, motor, and cognitive development; her expectations for the child's future; the adequacy of her resources and social support; and her level of depression. The addicted mothers were also asked how their drug use had affected their ability to take care of their children. Emotional neglect or abuse of the children was admitted by 60% of the addicted women, and physical neglect was reported by 60% as well. Mothers described themselves as being so overwhelmed by their addiction that they failed to meet consistently even their children's most basic needs for food and clean clothing. However, the mothers' love for their children and their sincere desire to become good parents was evident. Children of the addicted mothers had more chaotic home environments than the comparison group; they moved more frequently and were more likely to have been placed in foster care. Their mothers were somewhat more depressed and had fewer material and personal resources to meet their families' needs. The addicted mothers received more social support from institutional sources (church, social workers, etc.) than did the comparison mothers, while the comparison mothers received more support from family and friends. The addicted mothers described their children as having been more difficult as infants, rated their children as somewhat lower in overall development, had lower expectations for their children's future school performance and were more worried that their child would get in trouble in the future than comparison mothers. There was little difference among children of addicted mothers between those whose mothers had used drugs during pregnancy and those who started using them after the child was born on any of the measures. Directions for future research and policy implications are discussed.