Maternal drug abuse versus maternal depression: Vulnerability and resilience among school-age and adolescent offspring

Abstract

In this study of 360 low-income mother-child dyads, our primary goal was to disentangle risks linked with commonly co-occurring maternal diagnoses: substance abuse and affective/anxiety disorders. Variable-and person-based analyses suggest that, at least through children's early adolescence, maternal drug use is no more inimical for them than is maternal depression. A second goal was to illuminate vulnerability and protective processes linked with mothers' everyday functioning, and results showed that negative parenting behaviors were linked with multiple adverse child outcomes. Conversely, the other parenting dimensions showed more domain specificity; parenting stress was linked with children's lifetime diagnoses, and limit setting and closeness with children's externalizing problems and everyday competence, respectively. Results are discussed in terms of implications for resilience theory, interventions, and social policy.

Conceptualizing and Re-Evaluating Resilience Across Levels of Risk, Time, and Domains of Competence

“…In general, there is a need for more studies examining within-group differences in high-risk children to replicate and expand upon findings from previous such studies (Cicchetti and Rogosch 1997;GormanSmith et al 2004;Luthar and Sexton 2007;VanderbiltAdriance and Shaw in press). Relating back to a narrower conceptualization of resilience, researchers should clearly specify the particular outcome in question, and discuss their results as specific to that outcome, instead of referring to a general, overall ''resilient'' outcome.…”

“…Other samples of predominantly low-income, ethnically diverse samples also show a high rate of problems among at-risk children (Buckner et al 2003;Luthar and Sexton 2007;Stouthamer-Loeber et al 2004). For example, a study of low-income children of mothers with psychiatric diagnoses found that only 7-21% of the children displayed positive outcomes (i.e., average levels of social competence and low externalizing or internalizing symptoms; Luthar and Sexton 2007).…”

“…For example, a study of low-income children of mothers with psychiatric diagnoses found that only 7-21% of the children displayed positive outcomes (i.e., average levels of social competence and low externalizing or internalizing symptoms; Luthar and Sexton 2007). Sadly, even among a control group of children whose mothers had no diagnoses, only 23% had positive outcomes, demonstrating that although having a mother with a psychiatric illness is detrimental, so is living in a low-income family.…”

“…As such, they were not subject to the same level of rigorous review of methodology. Other limitations include retrospective reports of risk (Collishaw et al 2007;Jaffee et al 2007;Masten et al 1999), relatively small samples of high-risk children (Collishaw et al 2007;Farber and Egeland 1987;Radke-Yarrow and Brown 1993), and crosssectional methodologies (Buckner et al 2003;D'Imperio et al 2000;Lin et al 2004;Luthar 1991;Luthar and Sexton 2007;Tiet et al 1998Tiet et al , 2001, all of which constrain the strength of the conclusions that can be drawn.…”

“…Many studies group diverse ages of children together, with minimal regard to potential developmental differences in the effects of risks and protective factors, or their relation to adjustment (Buckner et al 2003;Cicchetti and Rogosch 1997;Cicchetti et al 1993;Lin et al 2004;Luthar and Sexton 2007;Masten et al 1999;Tiet et al 1998Tiet et al , 2001. For example, it is possible that certain protective factors may be more or less helpful at particular stages of development.…”