Maternal and paternal warmth impact recovery support and social network composition for substance dependent African American and non-African American women

AbstractBackground: Poor early relationship experiences during the first 16 years of life may negatively impact adults’ capacity to establish and utilize social support (Suchman et al. 2005). This is especially of concern for women with substance use disorders (SUD) for whom social support is associated with recovery maintenance and treatment retention (Gregoire and Snively 2001). The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of early relationship experiences, specifically paternal and maternal warmth, on recovery related social support and personal network characteristics among African American (AA) and non-AA women in treatment for SUD.Methods: Data were collected from 254 women in substance abuse treatment, 146 AA and 108 non-AA. Ordinal logistic, Poisson or multiple linear regressions were fitted to predict the impact of maternal and paternal warmth during childhood on adult social network composition and recovery support.Results: Greater maternal warmth was associated with greater recovery-s...