Effectiveness of a Specialized Inpatient Treatment Program for Substance and Alcohol Abusing Pregnant Women

• DOI: 10.1177/0022042619831986
• Date: 01 July 2019
• Author: Veola E. Vazquez,Aine Bergin
• Published date: 01 July 2019
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042619831986

Journal of Drug Issues

2019, Vol. 49(3) 436 –449

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0022042619831986

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Article

Effectiveness of a Specialized

Inpatient Treatment Program

for Substance and Alcohol

Abusing Pregnant Women

Veola E. Vazquez1 and Aine Bergin1

Abstract

Effectiveness of a 90-day inpatient treatment program designed for substance/alcohol abusing

(SAA) pregnant women was evaluated. Participants were 100 SAA pregnant women who also

had additional children. Each woman voluntarily participated in the specialized program while

in inpatient recovery. This program included weekly individual therapy and psychoeducational

groups: parenting education, women’s issues, prenatal education, attachment, and child

development. Repeated measures factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to

determine the efficacy of the program in reducing parenting stress for women using more than

one substance compared to those using only one substance. Results revealed a main effect

for total parenting stress and parent factors (measured by the Parenting Stress Index) pre- to

posttreatment. Subjects showed a greater sense of competence in parenting, fewer feelings of

isolation, and lower depression scores posttreatment. No interactions effects were found for

treatment and number of substances. The intervention is described as well as directions for

future research.

Keywords

substance abuse, alcohol abuse, pregnancy, intervention, women

Introduction

Estimates indicate that approximately 5% of pregnant women in the United States use one or

more substances and/or alcohol (Wendall, 2013). The 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and

Health (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMSHA]) reported

average use in the past month among pregnant females for a number of addictive substances.

According to this survey, marijuana was the most used substance (8.5%), followed by cocaine

(7.1%), prescriptions (1.8%), and opioids (1.4%). What is more, polysubstance use, alcohol

included, is a common problem among pregnant women (Wendall, 2013). The use of addictive

substances places these women at risk for a number of health-related, social, and psychological

problems (Wendall, 2013), therefore, specialized alcohol/substance abuse treatment programs

1California Baptist University, Riverside, USA

Corresponding Author:

Veola E. Vazquez, Professor of Psychology, California Baptist University, 8432 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, CA 92504,

USA.

Email: vvazquez@calbaptist.edu

831986JODXXX10.1177/0022042619831986Journal of Drug IssuesVazquez and Bergin

research-article2019