The
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
expanded the scope of the Women, Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence
Study by funding four of the nine women's study sites to participate
in an additional Children's Subset Study. The "Cooperative
Agreement to Study Children of Women with Alcohol, Drug Abuse and
Mental Health (ADM) Disorders who have Histories of Violence"
seeks to generate and apply empirical knowledge about the effectiveness
of trauma-informed, culturally relevant and age-specific intervention
service models for children 5 to 10 years of age who have been impacted
by their mother's co-occurring disorders and their mother's history
of violence.
Even when the child is not the direct victim, children who witness
violence suffer from stress reactions similar to those experienced
directly by the victims of violence. The children of women with
co-occurring ADM disorders and histories of violence are at risk
for a multitude of problems as they grow older, including a sense
of abandonment, anger, depression and co-occurring mental health
and substance abuse disorders. Many times, the parents of these
children are either incarcerated or currently dealing with their
own mental health and substance abuse issues, and often the well
being of the child goes unnoticed.
Existing
service systems for children are often complex and lack the trauma-informed
focus that these children need. Current services also lack the culturally
and linguistically appropriate services focus and most often, the
services have not been guided by the input of the women or mothers
themselves. Further, the children exposed to parental violence are
at a risk for long-lasting emotional and behavioral difficulties.
The overarching purpose of the Children's Subset Study is to develop
an appropriate intervention that addresses these issues, fills in
the service voids and moves towards ending the cycle of violence.
The objective for this study is to identify and develop a model
of care that will prevent or reduce the intergenerational perpetuation
of violence, substance abuse and mental health problems and reduce
the impact of violence in the lives of children whose mothers have
co-occurring disorders and histories of trauma and to develop learnings
to assist the field in general. These objectives will be achieved
by:
reducing risk factors related to potential substance abuse,
reducing mental health and trauma dysfunction
increasing resiliency and coping skills
improving emotional and behavioral health.
A complete multi-site process and outcome evaluation of age-specific
interventions and services will be conducted to answer the following
question:
Do trauma-informed, age-specific interventions for children including
concurrent services for mother and child as compared to children's
services as usual yield:
increased self awareness, self worth, and self-identity;
The
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
expanded the scope of the Women, Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence
Study by funding four of the nine women's study sites to participate
in an additional Children's Subset Study. The "Cooperative
Agreement to Study Children of Women with Alcohol, Drug Abuse and
Mental Health (ADM) Disorders who have Histories of Violence"
seeks to generate and apply empirical knowledge about the effectiveness
of trauma-informed, culturally relevant and age-specific intervention
service models for children 5 to 10 years of age who have been impacted
by their mother's co-occurring disorders and their mother's history
of violence. 
Existing
service systems for children are often complex and lack the trauma-informed
focus that these children need. Current services also lack the culturally
and linguistically appropriate services focus and most often, the
services have not been guided by the input of the women or mothers
themselves. Further, the children exposed to parental violence are
at a risk for long-lasting emotional and behavioral difficulties.
The overarching purpose of the Children's Subset Study is to develop
an appropriate intervention that addresses these issues, fills in
the service voids and moves towards ending the cycle of violence.
