This project will investigate the development of resiliency in children with drug abusing mothers. In this longitudinal study children aged 6 to 12 who live with drug abusing mothers in a three-month residential treatment program will be compared with children of the same age who live with drug abusing mothers in two separate outpatient treatment programs. The programs are similar in that each is operated by the same health center and draws from the same predominantly poor African American intake population; however, each program differs substantially in the level of comprehensive services to the mothers and their children. Survey and test data for each child will be collected from the mother and child at six time points over a three-year interval of treatment and recovery, using the eligible intake population that initiates each program over a two-year period. The basic hypothesis is a straightforward main effect of the comprehensive treatment. The more comprehensive the treatment services of the mother and child, the greater will be the performance gain of the child on the posttest cognitive, behavior, and school performance variables, as well as in subjective self-esteem and capacity for resiliency.
