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Perinatal crack users becoming temperant: the social psychological processes
1Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, USA.
According to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, on average in 1994 and 1995, 269,000 pregnant women self-reported the use of an illicit drug within the past year. Drug use during pregnancy continues to have a significant impact on infant mortality in the United States. Using the feminist perspective and grounded theory method, a grounded theory of temperance was discovered for perinatal crack users. Nineteen women participating or interfacing with a psychiatric-obstetrical clinic within a maternal and infant project in a large Southeastern city were interviewed. Staying clean was the social-psychological problem generated from the data. Becoming temperant was identified as the process by which the women manage to stay clean. This substantive theory provides a broader understanding of the experiences of addicted pregnant women. Implications for improved treatment and further research are suggested.
According to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, on average in 1994 and 1995, 269,000 pregnant women self-reported the use of an illicit drug within the past year. Drug use during pregnancy continues to have a significant impact on infant mortality in the United States. Using the feminist perspective and grounded theory method, a grounded theory of temperance was discovered for perinatal crack users. Nineteen women participating or interfacing with a psychiatric-obstetrical clinic within a maternal and infant project in a large Southeastern city were interviewed. Staying clean was the social-psychological problem generated from the data. Becoming temperant was identified as the process by which the women manage to stay clean. This substantive theory provides a broader understanding of the experiences of addicted pregnant women. Implications for improved treatment and further research are suggested.