Relationships among childhood abuse, subsequent adult functioning (with a focus on severity of substance abuse), and child placement were explored in an urban sample of low-income, African-American mothers. Childhood sexual trauma and age were found to be correlated with severity of later drug use; history of physical or sexual abuse was significantly related to psychological distress in adulthood; and addiction was highly correlated with child placement. Implications of the findings are discussed, with particular reference to collaborations between child welfare and substance abuse treatment.

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A randomized trial tested the psychosocial efficacy of a home visitation model for women at risk of out-of-home placement of their newborns. After an average of ten months of exposure, the experimental group reported significantly increased social support, greater access to services, and decreased psychological distress. Implications of the findings for interventions with at-risk families are discussed.

Path analysis was used to test the effects of resource perceptions and respite use in a theoretical model of parental adaptation to children with disabilities The amount and quality of respite indirectly affected parental depression via parent's perceptions of the adequacy of baby sitting and the time the parent had for herself or himself. Both quality and respite use were related to the helpfulness of the parent's social network. The strongest predictor of depression was the parent's perception of time resources, which was influenced by the amount of care the child required, the adequacy of money, and baby sitting resources.