Children of drug addicted mothers are exposed to highly stressful experiences and experience high levels of psychological and emotional distress, alongside psychiatric nosology with multiple comorbid symptoms. The following study extends the work of Lombard, et al. classify the consequences of prolonged or ongoing trauma of children of addicted mothers using lifespan domains. Children of addicted mothers are often exposed to severe and ongoing events of trauma, or environments that are not conducive to adequate development, resulting in a complex array of comorbid and compounding physical and psychological problems. Results showed that the prevalence of trauma experienced by children were categorized as being from social and physical domains, with the emotional domain (reported neglect=26) also being high. These experiences resulted predominantly in behavioral problems and emotional problems. The most salient problems included a child who reported hearing the devil speak to them in an ongoing manner, two children reporting attempted homicides on siblings, and three children reporting hurting animals. Further research in capturing and detailing the extent of the trauma experienced and the resulting lifespan domain problems is necessary.

Maternal addiction is a significant factor behind the endogenous and the exogenous problems in children. This study extends the works of Cicchetti and Rizley (1981) by providing developmental parameters to classify, categorize and identify common and salient problems of children of addicted mothers (COAM). An archival method was used to review files (36 files, 69 participants, male=39 and female=30) from a residential drug rehabilitation facility. Files were reviewed in terms of children's health and psychological problems and the purpose of the study was to discover how maternal addiction negatively influences children in relation to specific drugs; and to determine the severity and the nature of those problems in terms of how maternal addiction translates to particular problems in children. Results showed that common endogenous problems ranged from biological to psychological problems, with cognitive deficits and emotional wellbeing being salient problems. In terms of exogenous problems, unstable home environments, neglect and abuse were salient. A novel finding of this study was the occurrence of enuresis and encopresis for children, up to the age of 17. Implications of the study are discussed.