Donohue Brad, Plant Christopher P, Chow Graig, Schubert Kimberly, Bradshaw Kelsey, Urgelles Cappellano Jessica, Allen Daniel N
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA.
Florida State University, College of Education, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
Br J Soc Work. 2019 Jan;49(1):77-95. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcy027. Epub 2018 Apr 24.
Illicit drug use by mothers has been indicated to increase child abuse and neglect. However, investigators have not assessed the relative contribution of particular drugs on child-abuse and neglect potential using validated measures with collateral reports. This study compares the contribution of marijuana and hard-drug use to child-abuse and neglect potential in mothers referred to behavioural treatment by child-protective services. Reports of marijuana and hard-drug use by mothers were three times higher than reports of the mothers' marijuana and hard-drug use by family or friends, and marijuana- and hard-drug-use reports by mothers were more consistent with urinalysis testing than their significant others. Regression analyses showed mothers' marijuana and hard-drug-use reports contributed to their potential to abuse and neglect irrespective of socially desirable responding, stress and socio-demographic variables. Reports of mothers' marijuana and hard-drug use by significant others were not associated with mothers' child-abuse and neglect potential. Thus, mothers' self-reports of marijuana and hard-drug use appear to provide greater utility in the prediction of child abuse and neglect, as compared to reports from their significant others. Future recommendations and study limitations are discussed in light of these results.
母亲使用违禁药物已被证明会增加虐待和忽视儿童的行为。然而，研究人员尚未使用经过验证的旁证报告措施来评估特定药物对虐待和忽视儿童可能性的相对影响。本研究比较了大麻和硬性毒品的使用对被儿童保护服务机构转介接受行为治疗的母亲虐待和忽视儿童可能性的影响。母亲报告的大麻和硬性毒品使用情况比家人或朋友报告的母亲大麻和硬性毒品使用情况高出三倍，而且母亲报告的大麻和硬性毒品使用情况比其重要他人的报告更符合尿液分析检测结果。回归分析表明，母亲报告的大麻和硬性毒品使用情况对她们虐待和忽视儿童的可能性有影响，无论社会期望反应、压力和社会人口统计学变量如何。重要他人报告的母亲大麻和硬性毒品使用情况与母亲虐待和忽视儿童的可能性无关。因此，与重要他人的报告相比，母亲自我报告的大麻和硬性毒品使用情况在预测虐待和忽视儿童方面似乎更有用。根据这些结果讨论了未来的建议和研究局限性。
