“I Thought There Was No Hope for Me”: A Behavioral Intervention for Urban Mothers With Problem Drinking

Abstract

In this article, the authors evaluate the effects of a behavioral intervention for mothers with problem drinking who were infected with, or at risk for, HIV. They randomly selected 25 mothers from a larger longitudinal randomized controlled intervention trial for a qualitative interview. The authors found that mothers' participation in the program was facilitated by the development of a strong therapeutic alliance with the intervention facilitator and the use of a harm reduction approach toward alcohol and/or drug abuse. Mothers also reported that training in coping skills and the emphasis on parent-adolescent relationships were beneficial for program engagement and behavior change. The authors conclude from these results that treatment approaches that take into account the complexity of urban mothers' lives and substance use patterns can successfully engage and treat these women at high risk for adverse outcomes.

Outcomes of the Main dans la main initiative on substance-abusing expectant and new mothers in the perinatal period

“…L'approche de réduction des méfaits privilégiée dans le cadre de cette initiative semble avoir joué un rôle dans ce type de changements, confirmant ainsi les observations des experts qui considèrent que l'ouverture à des objectifs de réduction des méfaits en période périnatale est une pratique plus adaptée aux besoins des consommatrices de drogues que l'arrêt immédiat de la consommation notamment en raison de son caractère plus réaliste et plus respectueux des droits des usagères à avoir accès à de meilleurs soins 22,24 . Des recherches qualitatives portant sur l'évaluation de programmes destinés aux mères toxicomanes soulignent les retombées positives de cette approche sur la fréquentation des services, le maintien de leur participation ainsi que sur l'amélioration de leur qualité de vie 30,31 .…”

Exploring Promising Gender-Sensitive Tobacco and Alcohol Use Interventions: Results of a Scoping Review

“…Four of the six tobacco interventions (Bullock et al, 2009;Ferreira-Borges, 2005;McLeod et al, 2004;Reitzel et al, 2010) and 1 of the 13 alcohol interventions (Rasmussen et al, 2012) targeted pregnant women. Meanwhile, 8 of the 13 alcohol studies (de Guzman et al, 2006;Fang et al, 2010;Lewis & Neighbors, 2007;Rasmussen et al, 2012;Robert-Lewis et al, 2010;Schinke et al, 2009Schinke et al, , 2009aSchinke et al, , 2009bSchinke et al, , 2011 recognized that gender norms could play a significant role in alcohol treatment or prevention. Yet only one intervention (de Guzman et al, 2006) discussed how mothering may present barriers for treatment seeking including lack of access to child care, fear of losing children, stressful interactions with children, and disruption to the family system in parenting capacities as well as women's feelings of shame and guilt regarding their substance abuse (de Guzman et al, 2006).…”

“…Four of the tobacco interventions (Bullock et al, 2009;Ferreira-Borges, 2005;McLeod et al, 2004;WHO, 2007) and nine of the alcohol interventions (Connors & Walitzer, 2001;de Guzman et al, 2006;Fang et al, 2010;LaBrie et al, 2007;O'Donnell et al, 2010;Rasmussen et al, 2012;Robert-Lewis et al, 2010;Schinke et al, 2009Schinke et al, , 2011 engaged with the social determinants of women's health, primarily through a focus on improving social support. For example, Bullock et al (2009) conducted a social support intervention to reduce tobacco use that considered the needs of low-income women, with a particular focus on pregnancy and non-pregnancy-related stressors.…”

“…In the de Guzman et al (2006) study, several participants remarked that the broad focus of harm reduction and the intervention's emphasis on family concerns were major factors in their engagement with treatment and these elements encouraged them to reduce their substance use. In the intervention sessions, women freely shared the challenges they faced with alcohol and drug use and expressed that they felt free from judgment within the program.…”

Description of a Behavioral Intervention to Reduce Substance Use and Related Risk and Increase Positive Parenting among Urban Mothers with Alcohol and Other Drug Problems

“…Resistance by mothers' social network members toward several of the parenting strategies was also noted. By the end of the 14 sessions, and in follow-up qualitative interviews (de Guzman et al, 2006) most mothers remarked on how valuable the strategies had been for increasing communication with their children and many said these strategies had become routine in their families. However, future research is warranted on how best to conceptualize effective parenting strategies in ways that are acceptable across racial and ethnic groups.…”