Parental Status of Women Injection Drug Users and Entry to Methadone Maintenance

Abstract

This article examines patterns of methadone maintenance treatment entry among 9018 adult women injection drug users (IDUs), with special attention to parental-status differences. The data originate from a statewide drug-treatment database covering all women IDUs who entered drug treatment in the State of Massachusetts over a four-year period. Through the use of logistic regression analysis, the study found that among these women IDUs, those who resided with their children were significantly more likely to enter methadone maintenance than women who were mothers but did not reside with their children. Mothers residing with their children were 73% more likely to enter methadone maintenance than mothers who do not reside with their children. The authors discuss specific programmatic and policy implications including the need to determine whether methadone maintenance should be promoted as an alternative drug treatment option in order to preserve family unification or promote family reunification.

Social Contextual Factors Associated with Entry into Opiate Agonist Treatment Among Injection Drug Users

“…However, this relationship did not persist after adjusting for other predictors of treatment entry. Consistent with findings from previous studies, we observed a marginal association between being responsible for children or others and treatment entry in the crude model (26,32); however, this relationship was not observed in the multivariate model. Also noteworthy is the fact that the results from the exploratory analyses did not provide evidence of subgroup variation in the relationship between living arrangement and entry into opiate agonist therapy.…”

“…Existing studies have found the following factors to be associated with entry into treatment: being married, living with a partner, associating with fewer drug-using friends, and mothers residing with their children (17,21,26). Studies provide evidence that the following factors are barriers and associated with not entering treatment: homelessness, problems in family/social relationships and other family related matters (i.e., wanting to conceal addiction from spouse or having to care for ill family members) (18,27).…”

Do drug treatment services predict reunification outcomes of mothers and their children in child welfare?

“…Our prior research with the CalTOP sample showed that child-welfare-involved mothers who were heroin/opioid users were older (particularly compared with primary users of methamphetamine) and had longer treatment histories (Grella et al, 2006). Other research with mothers who are heroin/opioid users has shown substantial impairments in their functioning, often stemming from their long duration of drug use, residential instability, low levels of education and employment, and limited access to social support (Lundgren, Schilling, Fitzgerald, Davis, & Amodeo, 2003). Most of such mothers do not reside with their children and/or have frequent interruptions in their caregiving relationships (Schilling, Mares, & El-Bassel, 2004) and often display low levels of maternal involvement and bonding with children (Suchman & Luthar, 2000; Suchman et al, 2005).…”

Determinants of willingness to enroll in opioid agonist treatment among opioid dependent people who inject drugs in Ukraine

“…Globally, numerous factors have been associated with OAT initiation including: older age (Fairbairn et al, 2012; Lloyd et al, 2005; Reynoso-Vallejo et al, 2008; Shah et al, 2000; Shin et al, 2007; Yen et al, 2011), social support through marriage or living with a partner (Lloyd et al, 2005; Schutz et al, 1994), being female (Kerr et al, 2005; Schutz et al, 1994; Shah et al, 2000; Springer et al, 2015) and living with children (Lundgren et al, 2003). Other factors related to the individual’s drug use also facilitate the decision to initiate OAT including a substantial duration (Schutz et al, 1994; Schwartz et al, 2008) and frequency of drug injection (Booth et al, 1998; Reynoso-Vallejo et al, 2008; Zule and Desmond, 2000), overdose experience (Callon et al, 2006), prior history of drug treatment (Booth et al, 2003, 1998; Schutz et al, 1994; Zule and Desmond, 2000) and needle/syringe program (NSP) attendance (Shah et al, 2000).…”