Improving Parenting Practices Among Fathers Who Misuse Opioids: Fathering Through Change Intervention

Abstract

Fathers have been largely neglected in the parenting literature though there is a critical need to improve parenting practices among fathers who misuse opioids in the midst of the opioid epidemic. Urgency is critical to rapidly intervene in the lives of fathers and children to reduce misuse and interrupt intergenerational cycles of substance misuse. Thus, we provide an overview of solutions to adapt existing parenting interventions for fathers who misuse opioids to accelerate the pace of science for this population.

A randomized controlled trial to improve fathering among fathers with substance use disorders: Fathering in recovery intervention.

“…Additionally, outcome measures that use a harm reduction framework may be beneficial for identifying whether FIR is associated with more stability such as safer use, reductions in use, uptake and sustained use of medication for opioid use disorder, and safer parenting practices among fathers who use drugs (Vearrier, 2019). Future research must also identify poignant implementation adaptations and compare the ways subgroups of fathers in recovery may be differentially impacted by PMTO interventions and to determine whether there are subgroups in need of additional supports and what additional supports might include (e.g., fathers with greater psychopathology may need more intensive therapeutic support, fathers with child welfare involvement may need support navigating child welfare complexities, fathers with socioeconomic challenges may need direct financial assistance; Cioffi & DeGarmo, 2021).…”

“…Risk for problematic parenting practices is heighted when environmental stressors outweigh a parent’s resources to manage those external events, when parents experience deficits in knowledge and skills related to parenting and child development, when parents experience difficulties in emotion regulation, and when parents experience consequences of use (Milligan et al, 2020; Neger & Prinz, 2015). As such, fathers with SUD may experience challenges with parenting as a result of contextual factors that predicated SUD, such as socioeconomic strain and trauma (see Cioffi & DeGarmo, 2021; Cioffi et al, 2019, for reviews). SUD may also threaten father–child relationship quality due to negative self-stigma that reduces the likelihood of engagement in the fathering role, punitive child welfare systems that perpetuate stigma (Brandon et al, 2017), and some behaviors that may be attributable to use itself.…”

“…While these data cannot be used as evidence that father substance use causes suboptimal child well-being, they clarify that father substance use is a risk factor that points to the need for intervention (Kraemer et al, 1997). For example, confounds may include factors related to but not exclusively overlapping with father substance use such as educational disadvantage, financial strain, interpersonal conflict including domestic violence, and parent incarceration (Cioffi & DeGarmo, 2021). What is known is that fathers with SUD are interested in being involved in their children’s lives and capable of change; however, they are often left out of the research and practice agenda despite the need for support (McMahon, 2020; McMahon et al, 2008; McMahon & Rounsaville, 2002; Stover et al, 2011, 2019).…”

“…Social disadvantage, family structure transitions, interparental conflict, and substance use can interfere with parent and family functioning (Cioffi & DeGarmo, 2021; Cioffi et al, 2019; Magnus & Benoit, 2017; McMahon, 2020; Williams, 2014). Key tenets of the family stress model (e.g., negative events, stressors, and harsh environments) lead to disruptive family management and can directly affect emotional and behavioral regulation within family interactions, parenting agency, and efficacy.…”

Addressing stigma within the dissemination of research products to improve quality of care for pregnant and parenting people affected by substance use disorder

“…Researchers can also practice inclusivity through conducting research with pregnant and parenting people who are not cis-gendered. In general, there is little information about the parenting experiences of men with SUD (115,116) and far less (if anything) about people who are not cis-gender (117).…”