The ultimate goal of the proposed study is to investigate the emotional and social consequences of maternal drug use on caregiving ability and infant development in order to design more effective interventions.
The specific aim of the study is to assess how cocaine use, parenting stress, social support, and coping skills affect a mother's ability to respond and interact sensitively with her infant and develop a secure attachment relationship. To achieve this aim, the study will employ a two group correlational design, with forty mother-infant dyads in each group. Both groups are comprised of urban, lower socioeconomic African Americans. Infants in one group will have been prenatally exposed to cocaine, and the comparison group will not. Mother-infant interaction will be assessed in a videotaped free play session, and infant attachment will be assessed in the Strange Situation, at twelve months. Mothers will complete questionnaires assessing perceptions of social support, parenting stress, and coping skills as part of the parent grant (NIDA 6422464). Dependent measures will be dyadic play interaction ratings and attachment classifications. Analysis will determine if interactions and attachment patterns vary as a function of drug exposure and individual differences in maternal caretaking environment. Comparisons between the two groups will allow assessment of the effects of maternal cocaine use and social support on maternal perceptions of stress and coping style, which are, in turn, hypothesized to affect mother-infant interactions and the infant's pattern of attachment. Results will e applied to a model of parenting which can potentially modify assessment and intervention strategies with drug exposed infants and their mothers.
