Coexisting child neglect and drug abuse in young mothers: specific recommendations for treatment based on a review of the outcome literature.
Bundle problem-solving therapy with family skill training when young mothers use drugs and neglect their kids.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Donohue (2004) read every paper he could find on two problems at once. Young mothers who use drugs and neglect their kids.
He wrote a narrative review. No new data. Just a map of what treatments might work.
What they found
The map points to two tools. Problem-solving therapy and family-based skill training.
No numbers are given. The review only says these look promising for the dual-problem group.
How this fits with other research
Donohue et al. (2009) later filled in the map. They show Family Behavior Therapy works for drug abuse in teens and adults. Same tool, wider crowd.
O'Reilly et al. (2008) give hard proof. One-by-one cases show function-based ABA cuts challenging behavior in drug-exposed kids. No fancy edits needed.
Dixon et al. (2008) sound a warning. Only 3 of 37 studies tested any treatment for substance-exposed children. The gap Brad spotted is still wide open.
Why it matters
If you serve child-welfare families, keep it simple. Add brief problem-solving lessons to your parent training. Use Brad's two-tool combo while we wait for stronger data. Track each mom's progress with daily behavior sheets. Small wins build momentum.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Although perpetrators of child neglect often abuse illicit substances, treatment outcome evaluations in drug-abusing young mothers who have been found to neglect their children are conspicuously absent. Problem-solving interventions and family-based therapies that include skill acquisition components have demonstrated effectiveness in substance-abusing adolescents and child-neglecting mothers. The purpose of this article is (a) to review studies that have examined the relationship of drug abuse and child neglect, (b) to review clinical treatments that appear to be effective in both perpetrators of child neglect and drug-abusing adolescents, and (c) to integrate empirically validated drug abuse and child neglect interventions for use in adolescent mothers who have been found to abuse drugs and neglect their children.
Behavior modification, 2004 · doi:10.1177/0145445503259486