An early report on the mother-baby interactive capacity of substance-abusing mothers

Objective: Examination of maternal interactive behavior and psychosocial si tuation of substance-abusing mothers in treatment. Method: Twelve mothers w ith an alcohol or drug abuse problem and 12 control mothers were assessed i n random order with the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment, for the a nalysis of videotaped mother-infant interactions at 3 and 6 months' postpar tum. Depressive symptoms were assessed with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and aspects of social support with two Social Support Questionnaires. Results: Substance-abusing mothers tended to have more problematic areas i n their interactive behavior, a tendency which increased during the study p eriod. As was expected, they were more often depressive, and experienced mo re social environment difficulties and less social support. Conclusions: Mo thers with alcohol and drug abuse problems need intensive professional supp ort in early motherhood, and are seen to be particularly motivated to striv e for abstinence and accept help at this stage of life. (C) 2001 Elsevier S cience Inc. All rights reserved.