Methamphetamine Use and Child Welfare: Review and Research Agenda

Smith, Brenda D.

doi:10.1080/15548730802523265

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The methamphetamine using group was the smallest ( n = 8) and generally reported a lack of information on the impact of the drug on their unborn child, as well as where to go for treatment services if they wanted. In the years following that publication, the national awareness of methamphetamine rose dramatically, as did anecdotal information and media attention to methamphetamine, which included “broad claims about the unique and profound effects” of methamphetamine on children and families (B. D. Smith, 2008, p. 518).…”

Section: Empirical Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This legislative action followed findings from the Infant Development, Environment, and Lifestyle (IDEAL) study which examined mothers' methamphetamine use during pregnancy and found that the women who used methamphetamine were more likely than nonmethamphetamine-using comparison mothers to experience greater legal difficulties and develop a substance use disorder (Derauf et al, 2007). The methamphetamine-exposed children were 3.5 times more likely to be small for gestational age, have lower birth weight (L. M. Smith et al, 2006) and increased psychological stress (L. M. Smith et al, 2008).…”

Section: Methamphetamine and Child Welfarementioning

confidence: 99%

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Examining the role of methamphetamine in permanency: A competing risks analysis of reunification, guardianship, and adoption.

Akin¹,

Brook²,

Lloyd³

2015

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

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Parental methamphetamine use has drawn significant attention in recent years. Despite prior research that shows that parental substance abuse is a risk factor for lengthy foster care stay, little is known about the effect of specific types of substance use on permanency. This study sought to compare the impact of parental methamphetamine use to alcohol use, other drug use, and polysubstance use on the timing of 3 types of permanency: reunification, guardianship, and adoption. Using an entry cohort of 16,620 children who had entered foster care during a 5-year period, competing risks event history models were conducted for each permanency type. Findings showed that, after controlling for several case characteristics, parent illicit drug use significantly impacted the timing of the 3 types of permanency, but alcohol use did not. Methamphetamine, other drug, and polysubstance with methamphetamine use were associated with lower rates of reunification and higher rates of adoption. Guardianship was also predicted by other drug and polysubstance use without methamphetamine; however, methamphetamine use was not associated with guardianship. Notably, the methamphetamine groups comprised the youngest children and had the shortest median time to adoption. Results suggest that type of parental substance use is predictive of permanency exits and that parental illicit drug use may require tailored strategies for improving permanency outcomes. Further implications of the findings are discussed.

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Section: Empirical Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methamphetamine and Child Welfarementioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the role of methamphetamine in permanency: A competing risks analysis of reunification, guardianship, and adoption.

Akin¹,

Brook²,

Lloyd³

2015

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

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“…This is largely due to the difficulty in separating the effect of the drug/s from other adverse social circumstances including poverty [5], mental health issues [6,7], family and domestic violence [8,9] and poor nutrition [10,11]. It is generally agreed that these infants may certainly be at risk of developmental impairment and that they warrant formal follow-up [12][13][14][15]. This research aims to gather data on the health of these infants at birth, and evaluate whether a detailed assessment of GMs in high-risk infants is predictive of neurological impairments in infants exposed to MA in pregnancy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

2020

NCP

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General Movements (GMs) assessment is an original approach to predict early brain dysfunction following prenatal exposure to Methamphetamine (MA) in a group of high -risk infants attending the Women and Newborn Drug and Alcohol Service. Prechtl's General Movement assessment has demonstrated an excellent marker to predict Cerebral Palsy (CP).Aim: To evaluate whether a detailed assessment of General Movements in high-risk infants is predictive of neurological impairments in infants exposed to methamphetamine in pregnancy. Method:A mixed-methods prospective study of 112 high-risk infants, using video recordings at birth and at 4 months post-birth. A detailed history of neonates following birth including birth details, mode of delivery, maternal drug use and socio-economic status, infants condition at birth, growth parameters, Apgar scores, infection and any admissions to Special Care Nursery were recorded. The videos were assessed by two separate professionals trained in Prechtl's method of assessing General Movements. A Griffith developmental assessment was undertaken at 12 months and the results compared to the optimality scores using a Pearson correlation.Results: Of the 100 infants assessed in the newborn period, of these, n =24 (21.4%) had normal assessment (low risk of Cerebral palsy), n = 50 (44.6%) had poor repertoire and 2 (1.8%) had Cramped-Synchronized, Hypokinetic n=23 (20.5%). At 4 months 75 infants were assessed as normal fidgety movements and 2 infants had absent fidgety movements. One infant developed Cerebral Palsy and six infants were referred for Developmental assessment at 12 months. There was no significant correlation between motor optimality scores and Griffith's scores at 12 months. Conclusion:This is the first study to our knowledge to report on general movements in this population. We found a high rate of poor repertoire in the first week of life however no increased rate of Cerebral Palsy. Motor optimality scores did not correlate with developmental outcomes at 12 months.

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