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Substance Abuse

Research indicates there can be a link between substance abuse and child maltreatment. Substance abuse may be a contributing factor for between one-third and two-thirds of maltreated children in the child welfare system. The number and complexity of co-occurring family problems often make it difficult to understand the full impact of substance abuse on child maltreatment.

During the past decade, prenatal exposure of children to drugs and alcohol during their mother's pregnancy, and its potentially negative developmental consequences, has been an issue of particular concern. In the United States, the number of children born each year exposed to drugs or alcohol is estimated to be between 550,000 and 750,000.¹

Alcohol and Drug Disorders Among Physically Abusive and Neglectful Parents in a Community-Based Sample
Kelleher, Chaffin, Hollenberg, & Fischer
American Journal of Public Health, 84(10), 1994
View Abstract
Examines the frequency of substance abuse disorders and symptoms within a population of adults reporting child physical abuse or neglect.

Association of Drug Abuse and Child Abuse
Jaudes, Ekwo, & Van Voorhis
Child Abuse and Neglect, 19(9), 1995
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Attempts to show that children born to mothers who used drugs during pregnancy are at a higher risk of subsequent abuse or neglect.

Blending Perspectives and Building Common Ground: A Report to Congress on Substance Abuse and Child Protection

Parental Substance Abuse and the Nature of Child Maltreatment
Famularo, Kinscherff, & Fenton
Child Abuse and Neglect, 16(4), 1992
View Abstract
Examines the association between parental substance abuse and physical or sexual child abuse.

Parental Substance Use and the Child Welfare System

¹Adapted from J. Goldman, M. K. Salus, D. Wolcott, and K. Y. Kennedy. (2003). A coordinated response to child abuse and neglect: The foundation for practice. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved June 2006 from http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/foundation/foundatione.cfm back

Updated on March 1, 2010