Mothers addicted to alcohol and drugs respond better to treatment when their children also take part in their recovery, according to a new study from The Ohio State University.
The study worked with 183 moms, most of them single, who abuse drugs or alcohol. Ohio State researchers put two-thirds of the moms in a family therapy program for six months, with their children aged 8 to 16. The rest of the moms attended a women’s health education program without their children.
Author of the study Natasha Slesnick says the moms in family therapy slowed down their abuse of alcohol and drugs at a faster pace.
“So most single mothers who are substance users want outpatient care," Slesnick said. "And when this happens it would be great because our findings show that including the children in a family therapy with those mothers, can help the mothers and it can help the children."
Slesnick adds that family therapy for moms addicted to opioids did not lead to better outcomes than individual treatment.
