Relational Parenting Group for Opioid-addicted Mothers
Condition: Substance Abuse; Child Abuse
MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders
Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase 2

Summary: 
      This study is a randomized trial of interventions to improve parent-child relationships of
      drug-dependent mothers.
    

Detailed description: 
      In this Stage II study, we will conduct a randomized clinical trial of the Relational
      Parenting Mothers' Group (RPMG), an intervention designed for opioid abusing mothers with
      children between the ages of 7 and 14 which was manualized and tested as part of a Stage I
      study (NIDA # P50-DA09241; September 1, 1994- August 31, 1997). This intervention was
      developed in recognition of the substantial psychosocial risks faced by substance abusing
      mothers and their offspring, and the notable lack of parenting interventions currently
      available for addicted mothers with children past the preschool years. Based on developmental
      psychopathology perspectives on resilience, this integrative treatment addresses multiple
      levels of adversity (individual, family, and community) faced by addicted mothers: risks that
      typically result in negative parenting behaviors and psychosocial distress among the mothers
      and concomitantly, psychiatric disturbance among their offspring. Designed as a supplement to
      standard drug counseling, RPMG is a structured and time-limited treatment, entailing 24
      weekly group sessions of 1½ hours each.

      Preliminary data collected in the Stage I pilot study have attested to the promise of RPMG in
      terms of diverse parenting behaviors and psychiatric outcomes among both mothers and their
      children. In the proposed study, we will conduct a randomized clinical trial in which mothers
      receiving RPMG as a supplement to Recovery Training (RT, a manualized group intervention
      representing standard drug counseling offered in methadone clinics) will be compared with
      those who receive RT alone. The RPMG clinical team will include one masters/doctoral level
      therapist and one assistant therapist and RT groups will be conducted by drug counselors; all
      therapists (RPMG & RT) will be trained and supervised by our research team. One hundred sixty
      mothers will be randomized to one of the two treatment conditions. Multiple-method,
      multiple-informant assessments will be used to measure salient outcomes; these will include
      reports from mothers and their children, and from the mothers' clinicians and their
      children's teachers.

      We will address the following specific aims in this study:

        1. We will evaluate the effectiveness of the Relational Parenting Mother's Group (RPMG) as
           a supplement to Recovery Training (RT) vs. Recovery Training alone in terms of a)
           mothers' parenting behaviors, b) their psychosocial adjustment, c) their children's
           psychosocial adjustment, and d) mothers' treatment compliance.

        2. We will evaluate the comparative durability of RPMG+RT vs. RT in terms of the outcomes
           in Aim #1, and in terms of delayed improvement in frequency of illicit drug use,
           HIV-risk behaviors, and other problems related to drug use.

        3. We will examine how specific maternal characteristics interact with treatment to affect
           outcomes. Guided by previous research, these characteristics will include mothers'
           intelligence, readiness for change, and sensation seeking.
    

Intervention name(s): Parenting Intervention
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: parenting intervention; substance abuse treatment; mother-child relations; parent-child relations; child abuse and neglect