PHILADELPHIA — Researchers at Jefferson’s Maternal Addiction Treatment Education & Research (MATER) program found significant improvement in the quality of parenting among mothers who participated in a trauma-informed, mindfulness-based parenting intervention while also in medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Results of the study, the first to scientifically test a mindfulness-based parenting intervention with this population, were published July 27 in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.
“Our results validate a powerful intervention when it is needed most,” said senior author Diane Abatemarco, Ph.D., MSW, principal investigator, Director of MATER and Associate Professor of OB/GYN and Pediatrics in the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. “By improving parenting through mindfulness, we may be able to change the intergenerational trajectory of trauma and improve children’s and families’ lives.”
A total of 160 women participated in a 12-week mindful parenting intervention at Jefferson’s Family Center, an outpatient and intensive outpatient treatment center that cares for women who are pregnant, parenting or working toward reuniting with their child. The mindfulness-based program included mother/baby education and practice, education on the impact of trauma, and mindfulness meditation. Themes included non-judgment, full attention and compassion.
“We designed the mindfulness-based parenting program to give women the resources and tools to be great parents. Our program supports moms, building their self-efficacy and self-confidence,” said Abatemarco.
The research team conducted pre- and post-tests with the women using three validated instruments to measure observed parenting quality, the mother’s childhood trauma exposure and self-reported mindful parenting. Women who participated in the mindfulness-based parenting program experienced a clinically significant increase in parenting quality, from “low” at baseline to “moderate” at completion.
“We also found that attendance matters,” said Meghan Gannon, Ph.D., MSPH, first author and research project manager at MATER. “For women who experienced high levels of childhood trauma, attendance was key to improving parenting.”
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Study limitations include self-report bias, self-selection bias and outside factors such as the natural trajectory of recovery.
The work was supported by the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services, grant number 90CB0190. The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Citation: Gannon, et al. “Impact of Mindfulness-Based Parenting on Women in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.” J Addict Med, 2017. DOI: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000336.
About Jefferson
Jefferson, through its academic and clinical entities of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health, including Abington Health and Aria Health, is reimagining health care for the greater Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey. Jefferson has 23,000 people dedicated to providing the highest-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients, educating the health professionals of tomorrow, and discovering new treatments and therapies to define the future of care. With a university and hospital that date back to 1824, today Jefferson is comprised of nine colleges, four schools, nine hospitals, 35 outpatient and urgent care locations, and a multitude of physician practices throughout the region, serving more than 100,000 inpatients, 373,000 emergency patients and 2.2 million outpatients annually.
Journal
Journal of Addiction Medicine