Substance Use among Adolescent Mothers: A Review.
Abstract
Maternal substance abuse is a critical problem, and adolescent mothers appear to be
at high risk for such behaviors. We review studies on postpartum adolescent substance
use to explore the extent of this problem and avenues for new research. Authors screened
1,300 studies, identifying 12 articles on substance use among postpartum adolescent
mothers for this review. Adolescent mothers reported greater substance use before
pregnancy compared to other adolescent females. Although some adolescents continued
substance use during pregnancy, most stopped using only to resume within six months
after birth. Comparisons of use to national samples of nulliparous adolescent females
showed a higher prevalence of substance use in this population. Substances used often
varied by race/ethnicity, with white mothers more likely to smoke cigarettes and use
marijuana, and Black mothers more likely than whites to drink and use drugs. Of all
identified studies, only one focused on Hispanics. Beliefs about drug use grew less
negative as girls transitioned from pregnancy to parenthood. As they transitioned
to adulthood, substance use remained prevalent and stable. Psychological distress
and low self-esteem appeared to influence continued use. Friends' cigarette smoking
predicted early initiation of and persistent smoking, while increased education predicted
quitting. Early initiation of substances often predicted problem behaviors. Adolescent
mothers are a vulnerable population, implicating use of problem behavior theory or
the self-medication hypothesis in future research. Multiple avenues for new studies
are needed to help identify effective treatment and intervention for this understudied
population.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19968Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.02.004Publication Info
Chapman, Shawna L Carroll; & Wu, Li-Tzy (2013). Substance Use among Adolescent Mothers: A Review. Children and youth services review, 35(5). pp. 806-815. 10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.02.004. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19968.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Li-Tzy Wu
Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Education/Training: Pre- and post-doctoral training in mental health service research,
psychiatric epidemiology (NIMH T32), and addiction epidemiology (NIDA T32) from Johns
Hopkins University School of Public Health (Maryland); Fellow of the NIH Summer Institute
on the Design and Conduct of Randomized Clinical Trials.Director: Duke Community Based
Substance Use Disorder Research Program.Research interests: COVID-19, Opioid misuse,
Opioid overdose, Opioid use disorder

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