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

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.