Interventions with Adolescent and Young Adult Mothers

Abstract

This chapter describes interventions for adolescent and young adult mothers who are pregnant or parenting and have substance abuse problems. It first considers the specific vulnerabilities of substance-using adolescent and young adult mothers, as well as the components of empirically supported interventions that may inform age-appropriate intervention development. It then discusses specific developmental considerations unique to adolescent and young adult mothers, along with the very few treatment models designed for pregnant and/or parenting adolescents and young adults with substance use problems. It also examines individual risk factors affecting parenting, with particular emphasis on the “dual-development hypothesis,” along with comorbid psychopathology in adolescent mothers. The chapter concludes by suggesting directions for future research.