“…African American women look t o their partners to provide a sympathetic ea r an d t o thei r parent s fo r affirmatio n o f self-worth (Strauss , 2001 ). However, partners can also enable drug use, suggestin g that treatment providers should asses s the quality of women's social support (Falkin & Strauss,2003).Because these relationships can ofte n contai n element s o f power an d control , many women choose to end their current relationship when the y begin recovery (Trulsso n & Hedin, 2004), In addition t o partners an d parents, women in treatment view children a s providing support fo r their recovery, and this includes children living with them and children who are in the custody of others (Tracy & Martin, 2007). Having the responsibility for caring fo r childre n an d receivin g publi c assistanc e can also be protective factor s fo r African American women who us e drugs (La m et al, 2004).…”