THE EARLY RELATIONSHIP OF DRUG-ABUSING MOTHERS AND THEIR INFANTS - ANASSESSMENT AT 8 TO 12 MONTHS OF AGE

Ten mother-infant dyads in which the mother abused drugs during pregna ncy were compared to 10 matched drug-free dyads using a short form of the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment to analyze videotaped mot her-infant interactions. Interactions consisted of two five-minute seg ments:structured and unstructured play. Infants were 8-12 months of ag e. There was a consistent tendency for the drug abusing group mean sco res to separate from the controls. Drug abusing dyads had significantl y more (r = .71, Fisher's Exact Probability) ratings below 3.0 in the unstructured play situation for items that measured enthusiasm, respon sivity to infant cues, and infant happiness. These categories provide preliminary evidence for those characteristics which may be most probl ematic in the relationship between drug abusing mothers and their infa nts. especially in situations in which mother is responsible for provi ding structure. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.