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The early relationship of drug abusing mothers and their infants: An assessment at eight to twelve months of age
Author(s) -
Burns Kayreen A.,
Chethik Leigh,
Burns William J.,
Clark Roseanne
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199704)53:3<279::aid-jclp11>3.0.co;2-f
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , happiness , pregnancy , drug , clinical psychology , psychiatry , social psychology , biology , genetics
Ten mother‐infant dyads in which the mother abused drugs during pregnancy were compared to 10 matched drug‐free dyads using a short form of the Parent‐Child Early Relational Assessment to analyze videotaped mother‐infant interactions. Interactions consisted of two five‐minute segments: structured and unstructured play. Infants were 8–12 months of age. There was a consistent tendency for the drug abusing group mean scores to separate from the controls. Drug abusing dyads had significantly more ( r = .71, Fisher's Exact Probability) ratings below 3.0 in the unstructured play situation for items that measured enthusiasm, responsivity to infant cues, and infant happiness. These categories provide preliminary evidence for those characteristics which may be most problematic in the relationship between drug abusing mothers and their infants, especially in situations in which mother is responsible for providing structure. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Inc.