ABSTRACT Parental substance use disorder is a significant public health concern in the United States, affecting millions of families and placing children at heightened risk for adverse developmental outcomes. West Virginia has been among the most heavily impacted states by the opioid epidemic, with some of the highest rates of overdose deaths and SUD prevalence in the nation. This study examined the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems among children of mothers in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. Surveys from 109 mothers in West Virginia revealed that 31.7% of children experienced emotional problems, 26.9% experienced conduct problems and 27.9% experienced hyperactivity problems. Maternal ACE scores and parent–child conflict were positively linked to children’s externalizing problems. Parent–child conflict and children’s ACE score were significantly associated with internalizing problems. Findings suggest that children whose mothers suffer from SUD face a greater risk for emotional and behavioral challenges, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions and support for affected families.

ABSTRACT Stigmatization of substance misuse within health care settings is a public health issue that negatively affects health care providers (HCPs) and people who misuse substances (PWMS) alike. A large body of research has been dedicated to understanding each population’s unique experiences when interacting with the other, but little research has been presented that analyzes their perspectives concurrently. The purpose of this narrative literature review is to understand the effects of stigmatization of substance misuse on the therapeutic alliance by analyzing the literature on interactions between PWMS and HCPs A total of 39 articles were identified: 24 on PWMS, 12on HCPs, and 3 that highlighed both perspectives. Across the literature, stigmatization was connected to language, severity of use, emotional experiences, the power imbalance between patients and providers, and treatment engagement. Mitigating the harms of stigma and increasing opportunties for therapeutic engagement is essential for creating better patient outcomes and mitigating the broader health disparities associated with substance use.

ABSTRACT This narrative review examines the current state of recovery housing in the United States and the integration of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) within Level II recovery homes. The review identifies key themes including the role of recovery capital among individuals using MOUD in recovery homes, the social model philosophy and MOUD integration, and barriers to MOUD implementation found in the current literature. Findings demonstrate the influence abstinence-based recovery models have had on the integration of MOUD in recovery homes, challenges at the policy level, and the need for universal data collection to assess and sustain recovery. The review concludes with recommendations for future research and practice in the field of recovery housing.

ABSTRACT Social work professionals play an important role in identifying and assessing alcohol-related problems. This paper explores the attitudes of social work professionals and their clients toward talking about alcohol use within the context of alcohol screening and counseling in social work. The primary objective is to explore: (1) How talking about alcohol use is constructed as an attitude object? And, (2) whether the professionals and their clients do this in the same way or whether there are differences between them. The social work professionals (N = 14) and their clients (N = 14) participated individual interviews, analyzed using a qualitative attitude approach. Both groups mainly constructed talking about alcohol use as a self-disclosure. The ways in which talking about alcohol use was constructed varied depending on whether talking about alcohol use was considered a threat to agency.

ABSTRACT Substance use disorder treatment (SUD) is associated with recovery, but the dropout rates are high particularly among vulnerable individuals such as those with trauma and SUDs. This study examines SUD program clients’ worry about their personal safety and the associations of safety worry with recovery outcomes. Of the 2,475 women and 2,385 men who entered an SUD program, 42.0% worried about their personal safety at program intake. Bivariate results found that safety worry at intake was associated with economic vulnerability, worse physical and mental health, and increased severity of substance use for both men and women as well as with victimization and worse recovery outcomes at follow-up. Multivariate results found that persistent safety worry was associated with more negative recovery outcomes for women but not for men. Future research is needed to examine the best way to identify and address worry about personal safety when clients enter SUD treatment.

ABSTRACT Higher education providers play an important role in equipping social work students with alcohol and other drug (AOD) related knowledge, attitudes and skills to help them support clients. They also play a role in promoting awareness of AOD-related career pathways. A scoping review of the websites of sixty-three accredited pre-service social work degree programs in Australia found that nine (14%) programs offered explicit AOD-related subjects (n = 11) and 12 (19%) programs referenced AOD-related careers. These findings suggest that many social work graduates may be inadequately prepared to support clients with AOD issues. A specialist AOD credential or program could increase knowledge and skills and promote awareness of AOD-related careers for social workers, but should not detract from the relevance of AOD-related content at an undergraduate level. This study establishes the need for primary research with graduates to determine their AOD-related knowledge, attitudes, and skills.

ABSTRACT This study investigates the role of multidimensional contextual factors on the perceived effectiveness of community coalitions engaged in the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) for addressing substance misuse. We introduced and validated an instrument for assessing a broad range of contextual factors for coalition development and program implementation. This research also scrutinizes how contextual factors impact coalition effectiveness, considering internal capacity indicators as mediators. Data were sourced from 295 and 297 coalition members across 2015 and 2016, respectively, involved in SPF initiatives within a northeastern state in the United States. Our analysis identifies three critical dimensions of contextual factors – collaboration and resources, politics, and demographics and norms – that significantly affect the perceived management and program effectiveness through different mechanisms. The findings underline the importance of prevention coalitions to comprehensively assess community contexts and strategically address contextual challenges to enhance their impact on substance misuse prevention.

ABSTRACT This Endpage examines harm reduction models, tracing their development and broadening scope. It distinguishes between two main approaches: the health model, prioritizing harm minimization while recognizing varying levels of readiness for complete abstinence, and the moral model, which centers on substance use reduction or abstinence. Both models’ strengths, such as their practical and empathetic nature, and limitations, including challenges like stigma and resource scarcity, are examined. Furthermore, the narrative explores avenues for integrating these models into interventions by social workers and agencies, including tailored assessments, client-centered planning, medication treatment, and supportive counseling, with an emphasis on respecting client autonomy. A call is made for a paradigm shift in substance use research and social work practice towards a strength-based and resilience-focused perspective, advocating for the harmonization of both harm reduction models to foster healthier outcomes and well-being among individuals and communities grappling with substance use issues.

ABSTRACT This study examined the longer-term effectiveness of The Seven Challenges® Program, a comprehensive counseling program that incorporates work on drug and co-occurring problems. This study also examined the role of self-disclosure in achieving positive outcomes for adult drug court clients. Results indicated that The Seven Challenges Program elicited more self-disclosure and was more effective than standard cognitive-behavioral treatment in sustained reduction of alcohol use, mental distress, emotional problems, and behavioral issues to 6 months post-intake. Additionally, The Seven Challenges Program was effective at reducing criminal activity. Greater self-disclosure among The Seven Challenges clients accounted for their greater perceived impact of treatment, but not for the effectiveness of The Seven Challenges relative to standard cognitive-behavioral treatment. These findings strengthen the existing evidence base of the effectiveness of The Seven Challenges.

ABSTRACT Lower education levels among addiction treatment service users poses a significant communication barrier in addiction treatment. We sought to develop a new visual educational resource to support recurrence prevention among those seeking alcohol dependency treatment. Eighty-six Canadian addiction counseling professionals provided feedback on the model developed based upon five principles of evidence-based visuals: content, cognitive load, writing style, organization, and color choice. Thematic analysis revealed overwhelmingly positive feedback for the infographic as a resource that could benefit service users with poor educational backgrounds or for whom English was not their first language. Specific feedback and critique were used to generate an enhanced visual resource that combines science communication theory with clinical expertise of addiction counselor in order to reinforce complex ideas in a simpler manner.