Yoon Susan, Stanek Charis, Benavides Juan Lorenzo, Napier Taylor, Chang Yujeong, Nho Choong Rai
The Ohio State University, College of Social Work, Columbus, OH, United States.
Ewha Womans University, College of Social Sciences, Department of Social Welfare, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Front Psychiatry. 2025 Jul 21;16:1620676. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1620676. eCollection 2025.
Understanding the prevalence of caregiver substance use among families affected by the child welfare system can inform prevention and intervention efforts to reduce co-occurring caregiver substance use and child maltreatment. This study examined the national prevalence estimates of alcohol and drug dependence among caregivers affected by the U.S. child welfare system and explored variations based on child and caregiver characteristics.
A secondary data analysis was conducted using the most recent data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW-III).
Results indicated that approximately 8% of caregivers met criteria for alcohol dependence and 3% for drug dependence, with about 11% reporting either alcohol or drug dependence. For both alcohol dependence and drug dependence, higher prevalence rates were observed among White caregivers, male caregivers, caregivers of male children, and caregivers who were experiencing domestic violence and/or depression. Distinct patterns emerged in the prevalence rates of alcohol versus drug dependence across caregiver income, education, employment status, and the number of children's out-of-home placements.
Our findings highlight nuanced differences between alcohol and drug dependence and point to the need for targeted and contextually responsive programs that address the complex intersection of caregiver substance use and child maltreatment.
了解受儿童福利系统影响的家庭中照顾者物质使用的流行情况，可为预防和干预措施提供参考，以减少照顾者物质使用与儿童虐待行为的同时发生。本研究调查了受美国儿童福利系统影响的照顾者中酒精和药物依赖的全国流行率估计，并探讨了基于儿童和照顾者特征的差异。
使用来自全国儿童和青少年福祉调查（NSCAW-III）的最新数据进行二次数据分析。
结果表明，约8%的照顾者符合酒精依赖标准，3%符合药物依赖标准，约11%的照顾者报告有酒精或药物依赖。在白人照顾者、男性照顾者、男性儿童的照顾者以及经历家庭暴力和/或抑郁的照顾者中，酒精依赖和药物依赖的患病率均较高。在照顾者的收入、教育程度、就业状况以及儿童的家庭外安置数量方面，酒精依赖和药物依赖的患病率呈现出不同的模式。
我们的研究结果突出了酒精依赖和药物依赖之间的细微差异，并指出需要有针对性的、因地制宜的项目来应对照顾者物质使用与儿童虐待行为的复杂交织问题。
