The present study compared 15 mothers on methadone maintenance (MM) and their 15 preschool children to 15 non-drug-addicted mothers (NDA) and their 15 preschool children on mothers' personalities and parenting attitudes, the mother-child interaction, and on children's intelligence and developmental levels. Findings showed that in comparison to the control group, MM mothers performed less adaptively on measures of personality and parenting behavior. There were no differences between the two groups of mothers on their parenting attitudes. Children of MM mothers performed more poorly than children of NDA mothers on measures of intelligence, development, and socially adaptive behavior.

The present study compared 70 methadone-maintained mothers (MM) and their 70 preschool-age children to a matched control group of 70 non-drug-addicted mothers (NDA) and their 70 preschool-age children on mothers' personalities, intelligence levels, and parenting attitudes and behavior; and on children's behavior and intelligence and developmental levels. Findings showed that in comparison to the control group, MM mothers performed less adaptively on measures of intelligence, personality, and parenting behavior. Their scores on the parenting attitude measures reflected authoritarian childrearing beliefs. Children of MM mothers performed more poorly than children of NDA mothers on measures of intelligence and socially adaptive behavior. In a comparison of children of MM mothers who experienced withdrawal from drugs at birth to children of MM mothers who were not born addicted to drugs, results revealed a tendency for withdrawal children to have developmental delays, lower IQ scores, and lower heights and weights.