Women and Children in Residential Treatment: Outcomes for Mothers and Their Infants

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between the living arrangement of mother and baby in a residential treatment center and measures of self-esteem, depression and parenting sense of competence and a woman's length of stay and completion or non-completion of treatment. Scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley 1969) are also examined by the amount of time the baby spent with mother, an arrangement that affords the opportunity for the child to participate in the facility's therapeutic child care center. Findings suggest that the earlier a mother's infant resides with her in the treatment setting, the longer her length of stay will be, with an increased opportunity for program completion. In addition, measures of depression were lower and measures of self-esteem were higher for women with their babies than for clients who did not have their infant in the treatment facility. Scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development were within normal limits for all infants living with their mothers in treatment.