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The Impact of Mother-Child Communication on Maternal and Child Substance Use Outcomes

Walsh, Laura M.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1625845918593201

Abstract Details

2021, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Human Ecology: Human Development and Family Science.
Research consistently shows that maternal substance use can have lasting, detrimental effects on the parent-child relationship and on child outcomes over time. These children are also at higher risk for developing a substance use disorder themselves. However, less is known about the communication patterns of mothers who use substances and their children, or how these patterns are related to substance use. The present study examined how dyadic communication patterns change over time, and how these changes are related to maternal substance use, as well as risk and protective factors for adolescent substance use. Additionally, this study tested the impact of family therapy on mother-child communication patterns over an 18-month period. The current study consisted of 49 dyads of mothers who had a substance use disorder (alcohol or illicit drug use) and their 8- to 16-year-old children who completed a communication task at baseline, 6 months, and 18 months. Mothers were randomized to receive family therapy or an individual attention control. The verbal content of the communication task was coded using the Living in Familial Environments coding system (LIFE; Hops et al., 1990). Behavioral tendencies and conditional probabilities for the sequence of mother-child interactions were generated using the Generalized Sequential Querier Program (GSEQ version 5.1.23; Bakeman & Quera, 2016). It was hypothesized that mothers and children of mothers who identified alcohol as their primary substance of choice would have higher levels of positive verbalizations compared to dyads whose mothers identified an illicit drug as their primary substance of choice at baseline. It was also expected that increases in positive communication over time would be related to increases in protective factors and decreases in risk factors for adolescent substance use. Finally, it was expected that dyads who received family therapy would show greater improvements in communication over time. T-tests, regression models, and repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted to test these hypotheses using data from baseline, 6-, and 18-months. Overall, the findings provided partial support for study hypotheses. Contrary to what was expected, results showed that children of mothers who reported alcohol as their primary substance showed higher rates of negative statements at baseline. In support of the second aim, results indicated that higher levels of parental monitoring were related to better communication between mothers and children. However, parental bonding was not linked to communication patterns in a consistent direction. No relationship was found between risk factors for adolescent substance use and communication patterns when child demographic factors were considered. Finally, results showed that mothers who received family therapy showed increases in positive statements over time, while their counterparts who did not receive family therapy showed decreases in positive statements over time. However, no significant treatment effects were found for child communication patterns. Taken together, findings from this study provide evidence that changes in mother-child communication can impact the family system. Further, the addition of family therapy can have a positive effect on dyadic communication patterns that is sustained up to one year after therapy ended.
Natasha Slesnick (Advisor)
Keeley Pratt (Committee Member)
Kelly Purtell (Committee Member)
Jen Wong (Committee Member)
179 p.
Families and Family Life; Personal Relationships; Therapy
substance use; mother-child communication; family therapy; substance use risk; substance use prevention

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Walsh, L. M. (2021). The Impact of Mother-Child Communication on Maternal and Child Substance Use Outcomes [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1625845918593201

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Walsh, Laura. The Impact of Mother-Child Communication on Maternal and Child Substance Use Outcomes. 2021. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1625845918593201.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Walsh, Laura. "The Impact of Mother-Child Communication on Maternal and Child Substance Use Outcomes." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1625845918593201

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1625845918593201
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