Drug-abusing fathers: Patterns of pair bonding, reproduction, and paternal involvement

Abstract

Despite concerns about compromise of fathering as a public policy issue, very little is known about the status of drug-abusing men as parents. In this pilot study, 50 men enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment completed a structured research interview designed to generate basic information about patterns of pair bonding, reproduction, and paternal involvement. Descriptive analysis of these data highlighted a number of trends in the nature of fathering that, although at odds with popular stereotypes, were similar to trends noted in research conducted with other populations of disenfranchised men. Consistent with a developmental-ecological perspective on parenting, the findings suggest that historical and situational influences interact within this population to compromise socially responsible efforts to function as a parent. The results also raise questions about the extent to which public policy initiatives designed to promote more responsible fathering are reaching this population, and they highlight ways that the drug abuse treatment system might better support men interested in being a more effective parent.

The living arrangement may differentially influence IDU parents' motivation to reduce HIV risk as a function of gender

“…Recent research suggests that enhancing the parenting role may stimulate favorable drug treatment outcomes among IDU fathers participating in drug treatment (McMahon & Rounsaville, 2002;McMahon et al, , 2007McMahon et al, , 2008. The present analysis was designed to expand the literature by exploring the extent to which a parenting role that included residing with their children was associated with enhanced outcomes among IDU parents following an HIV-risk reduction intervention.…”

“…For example, after enrolling in drug treatment, an individual may become motivated to establish or reestablish healthier roles with family members and to withdraw from relationships that have supported less healthy roles that include HIV-risk behavior. Accordingly, researchers have begun to systematically examine whether motivation stemming from family relationships may be harnessed for the purpose of bolstering drug treatment outcomes (McMahon & Rounsaville, 2002;McMahon, Winkel & Rounsaville, 2008;McMahon, Winkel, Suchman & Luthar, 2002;McMahon, Winkel, Suchman & Rounsaville, 2007).…”

“…Email: michael.copenhaver@uconn.edu Suchman, Rounsaville, DeCoste & Luthar, 2007), some recent studies have targeted fathers (McMahon et al, 2007) and suggest that focusing on their role as parents may, in itself, serve as a unique motivating factor in their drug treatment outcomes (McMahon & Rounsaville, 2002;. Indeed, prior research with fathers, in general, indicates that parenthood has the effect of increasing their engagement in a wide range of pro-social activities (e.g., Eggebeen & Knoester, 2001;Knoester & Eggebeen, 2006) and this effect is significantly more pronounced and durable when fathers reside with their children vs. when they live separately.…”

The Good, The Bad, and the Invisible Father: A Phenomenological Study of Fatherhood in Men with Substance Use Disorder

“…According to Babcock (2008), the father's role in the risk scenario has been reduced to genes, toxicology and the quality of his sperm. McMahon and colleagues have in several articles documented the lack of attention to the fathering role of substance abusing men (McMahon, Winkel, Luthar, & Rounsaville, 2005;McMahon, Winkel, & Rounsaville, 2008;McMahon, Winkel, Suchman, & Rounsaville, 2007). The authors describe fathering as an important, but largely neglected, treatment issue for drug-abusing men.…”

La paternité dans un contexte de consommation maternelle abusive d’alcool et de drogues

“…Deux constats spécifiques émergent des recherches portant sur ces pères et sur les pères consommateurs en traitement : 1) le partenaire est un élément d'influence dans la dynamique de consommation des femmes et des mères à la période périnatale (Morissette, Chouinard-Thompson, Devault et Rondeau, 2009;Klee, Jackson et Lewis, 2002;Twomey, 2007); 2) il y a peu de connaissances sur le rôle des pères ayant de jeunes enfants en contexte de consommation abusive de drogues (McMahon, Winkel, Suchman et Rounsaville, 2007a, 2007b. Généralement, quand on aborde la consommation chez les pères, les travaux disponibles touchent l'alcoolisme et ses effets chez les enfants d'âge scolaire et les adolescents (Das Eiden et Léonard, 2000;El-Sheikh et Flanagan, 2001;El-Sheikh et Buckhalt, 2003).…”