Treatment of maternal addiction to prevent child abuse and neglect

Substance abusing mothers are a population neglected by the broader fields of substance abuse research and treatment. They are also at special risk for child abuse and neglect. This paper proposes a treatment model, drawn from the child maltreatment literature, that is also strongly supported by substance abuse research. Barriers within the substance abuse field to the adoption of treatment methods suggested by this model are considered and methods of surmounting those barriers are described. Finally, the need for scientists in the child maltreatment field to draw from the expertise of substance abuse researchers and clinicians is illustrated by data from an ongoing project; these data document the strong link between risk for maltreatment and a history of substance abuse. The need for future collaboration between the two fields is indicated by both literatures and strongly urged here.