Intervention for homeless, substance abusing mothers: findings from a non-randomized pilot. 2012

Natasha Slesnick, and Gizem Erdem
Department of Human Development and Family Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. nslesnick@ehe.osu.edu

Little empirically-based information is available regarding how best to intervene with substance-abusing homeless mothers. This study pilot-tested a comprehensive intervention with 15 homeless women and their 2- to 6-year-old children, recruited from a local family shelter. All participants were offered integrated intervention with three major components. The first component was housing which included 3 months of rental and utility assistance, and these services were not contingent upon women's abstinence from drugs or alcohol. The second and third components included 6 months of case management services and an evidence-based substance abuse treatment (Community Reinforcement Approach; CRA). Analysis revealed that women showed reductions in substance use (F(2,22) = 3.63; p < .05), homelessness (F(2,24) = 25.31; p < .001), and mental health problems (F(2,20) = 8.5; p < .01). Further, women reported reduced internalizing (F(2,22) = 4.08; p < .05) and externalizing problems (F(2,24) = 7.7; p = .01) among their children. The findings suggest that the intervention is a promising approach to meet the multiple needs of this vulnerable population. These positive outcomes support the need for future research to replicate the findings with a larger sample using a randomized design.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008603 Mental Health Emotional, psychological, and social well-being of an individual or group. Mental Hygiene,Health, Mental,Hygiene, Mental
D009035 Mothers Female parents, human or animal. Mothers' Clubs,Club, Mothers',Clubs, Mothers',Mother,Mother Clubs,Mother's Clubs,Mothers Clubs,Mothers' Club
D010865 Pilot Projects Small-scale tests of methods and procedures to be used on a larger scale if the pilot study demonstrates that these methods and procedures can work. Pilot Studies,Pilot Study,Pilot Project,Project, Pilot,Projects, Pilot,Studies, Pilot,Study, Pilot
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D002675 Child, Preschool A child between the ages of 2 and 5. Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005260 Female Females
D006301 Health Services Needs and Demand Health services required by a population or community as well as the health services that the population or community is able and willing to pay for. Health Services Needs,Needs,Needs and Demand, Health Services,Target Population,Health Services Need,Need, Health Services,Needs, Health Services,Population, Target,Populations, Target,Target Populations
D006703 Ill-Housed Persons Persons without adequate housing or without permanent residence. The concept excludes nomadic peoples. Homeless Persons,Homeless Shelters,Shelterless Persons,Shelters for Homeless Persons,Street People,Unhoused Persons,Homelessness,Homeless Person,Homeless Shelter,Ill Housed Persons,Ill-Housed Person,People, Street,Person, Homeless,Person, Ill-Housed,Person, Shelterless,Person, Unhoused,Persons, Homeless,Persons, Ill-Housed,Persons, Shelterless,Persons, Unhoused,Shelter, Homeless,Shelterless Person,Shelters, Homeless,Unhoused Person
D006798 Housing Living facilities for humans. Family-Patient Lodging,Patient-Family Lodging,Family Patient Lodging,Family-Patient Lodgings,Lodging, Family-Patient,Lodging, Patient-Family,Lodgings, Family-Patient,Lodgings, Patient-Family,Patient Family Lodging,Patient-Family Lodgings

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