Examining Relationships Between Recall of Childhood Attachment Quality, Current Family Functioning, Health Quality and Maternal Substance Use Outcomes

• In Event: Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Parental substance use disorders (SUDs) are a significant and complex public health problem. Approximately 8.7 million children (12.5% of U.S. children) under 18-years old have at least one parent with an SUD. Parental SUDs negatively impact parenting and place children at greater risk for poor outcomes (e.g., internalizing and externalizing problems, interpersonal relationship difficulties, higher risk for exposure to trauma/neglect/abuse), including increased risk for intergenerational transmission of SUDs. SU has increased childrearing women in recent years. However, mothers with SU problems and their children remain an underserved and understudied population. Examining factors related to maternal SU and recovery is important, as gender specific variation exists in terms of motivation for use, patterns of drug use and biological responses. For example, research suggests that gender, motherhood status, and parenting stress may intersect with other SU risk factors (e.g. trauma, depression) to impact SU severity in childrearing women. Interestingly, the parenting role can also serve as a protective factor for mothers and an important treatment entry point. In particular, several studies have shown the potential importance of focusing on intergenerational mother-child attachment patterns, demonstrating that improving attachment specific domains in mothers with SUDs may increase motivation for recovery and contribute to better maternal and child outcomes (Suchman et al., 2010.) More research is needed to understand the role of mothers’ own attachment experiences and trauma in their SUD risk and general functioning. Additional research is also needed with diverse samples, as racial and ethnic minority women have often been underrepresented in studies in this area.

The current pilot study is a cross-sectional study based on intake data collected from mothers enrolled in a university-affiliated SUD outpatient treatment center in Philadelphia. Measures: The Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire to assess recall of the quality of childhood attachment-related domains (warmth/acceptance; rejection); The Family Assessment Device (current family functioning); PHQ-9 (depression symptoms); PCL-5 (trauma symptoms); SUD severity questionnaire; Short-Form Health Survey-36. At the time of submission, our sample size is N = 17 mothers (53% Black/African American; 47% White), with an estimated total sample size of N = 75, by the time of conference presentation. (Currently, 35 additional participants have completed study measures, but there is a COVID-19 related backlog of data entry).

The following hypotheses will be tested: 1) Higher reported childhood attachment difficulties in mothers will relate to poorer current family functioning; 2) Higher reported childhood attachment difficulties and poorer current family functioning in mothers will relate to poorer SU and health outcomes (days using, general health, life satisfaction, mental health symptoms); Preliminary analyses show support for both hypotheses with moderate to large effect sizes. Childhood attachment difficulties significantly relate to current family functioning (r =.61; p <.05), and current family functioning significantly relates to days using in the past 30 days (r = .68; p <.05). As the sample size increases, follow-up analyses will continue to examine correlations, as well as possible moderation and indirect effect models. Results will have implications for building and assessing attachment and relationship focused maternal SUD intervention programs.

Authors

• Stephanie Krauthamer Ewing, Drexel University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Asif Zaarur, Drexel University
  Presenting Author

• David Bennett, Drexel University College of Medicine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jessica Chou, Drexel University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jaime Slaughter-Acey, University of Minnesota
  Non-Presenting Author