The effects of cocaine abuse on infants and their implications for social workers

The growth in the number of children and infants born exposed to cocaine is a relatively recent phenomenon that has taxed the already overburdened child welfare system's ability to carry out its social mandate. Despite the emergence of this social problem there is a paucity of published research on this subject in the social work literature. This paper addresses that gap by using the Social Research and Development method to review the empirical literature from a variety of fields for the purpose of identifying generalizations with empirical support on the effects of cocaine abuse on infants. These generalizations identify the effects of pre- and perinatal usage of cocaine by mothers on children, the effects on attachment behavior, and identifies the characteristics of the cocaine using mother. The paper concludes by identifying intervention guidelines that flow from the empirical findings.