| Objective. This was an exploratory, descriptive study of substance abusing women who have abused or neglected their children and were determined to be in need of child welfare services in a multicultural border community. The Family Based Safety Services Units (FBSSU) of the Texas Department of Children and Regulatory Services in El Paso, Texas, opened cases for these families. The study described (a) the mother's readiness for change, (b) the process of defining the pros and cons of changing substance abuse patterns using a decision making schema, (c) the importance of parenting in the decision making process, (d) the importance and confidence of the mothers in their abilities to abstain from drugs and alcohol, (e) the goals of the mothers and (f) the level of progress, confidence and importance of meeting the goals.; Methods. The subjects have previously been determined to have abused and neglected their children, were at high risk for further abuse, and for who cases have been opened in the FBSSU. A structured interview was conducted. The University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA), an instrument that measures readiness for change, a Pros and Cons Decisional Balance Sheet, a goal setting interview, and a series of rating scales on progress, confidence and importance of meeting goals, and the subject's confidence and importance in their ability to abstain from substance abuse were used to obtain a profile of each mother.; Findings. Twenty-three mothers were interviewed in this study. The population of mothers was multicultural in background and used a variety of substances. The mothers were predominately in the stages of pre-contemplation or action. They experienced mental health problems, health issues, financial losses and changes in relationships both when they used and stopped using. The benefits of changing reflected relationships with children and families, new positive self-statements and increased health. Mood control, escape from problems, and social relationships were some of the benefits of using chemicals. The importance of children and family was ranked the highest reason for change. |
