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Perceived Child Behavior Problems, Parenting Stress, and Maternal Depressive Symptoms Among Prenatal Methamphetamine Users

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Abstract

The present study was designed to examine parenting stress, maternal depressive symptoms, and perceived child behavior problems among mothers who used methamphetamine (MA) during pregnancy. Participants were a subsample (n = 212; 75 exposed, 137 comparison) of biological mothers who had continuous custody of their child from birth to 36 months. The subsample was drawn from a larger, ongoing longitudinal study on the effects of prenatal methamphetamine exposure (n = 412; 204 exposed, 208 comparison) (Arria et al in Matern Child Health J 10:293–302 2006). Mothers who used MA during pregnancy reported more parenting stress and more depressive symptoms than a matched comparison group. There were no differences between groups on perceived child behavior problems. In a hierarchical linear model, depressive symptoms, and perceived child behavior problems, but not MA exposure, were statistically significant predictors of parenting stress. Screening for potential parenting problems among mothers with a history of substance abuse is warranted. Parenting interventions targeting depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and child behavior problems are needed for this population.

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Acknowledgments

Infant Development, Environment, and Lifestyle (IDEAL) study was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA014948) and in part by the National Center for Research Resources, Grant No. 3M01 RR 00425 and P20 RR 11091.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Tulsa, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, OK, 74104-3189, USA

    Brandi D. Liles & Elana Newman

  2. Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Women and Infant’s Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Linda L. LaGasse, Sheri DellaGrotta, Lynne M. Dansereau & Barry M. Lester

  3. John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

    William Haning & Charles Neal

  4. Blank Hospital, Regional Child Protection Center-Children-Iowa Health, Des Moines, IA, USA

    Rizwan Shah

  5. Center on Young Adult Health and Development, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD, USA

    Amelia M. Arria

  6. LABioMed Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Lynne M. Smith

  7. Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Marilyn A. Huestis

  8. Miller Children’s Hospital at Long Beach (MCHLB), Long Beach, CA, USA

    Arthur Strauss

  9. Department of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Chris Derauf

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  1. Brandi D. Liles
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  2. Elana Newman
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  3. Linda L. LaGasse
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  4. Chris Derauf
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  5. Rizwan Shah
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  6. Lynne M. Smith
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  7. Amelia M. Arria
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  8. Marilyn A. Huestis
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  9. William Haning
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  10. Arthur Strauss
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  12. Lynne M. Dansereau
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  13. Charles Neal
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  14. Barry M. Lester
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Correspondence to Brandi D. Liles.

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Liles, B.D., Newman, E., LaGasse, L.L. et al. Perceived Child Behavior Problems, Parenting Stress, and Maternal Depressive Symptoms Among Prenatal Methamphetamine Users. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 43, 943–957 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-012-0305-2

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