Addiction recovery for low-income pregnant and parenting women: A process of becoming

A naturalistic field study of low-income women (N = 17) in an intensive outpatient addiction recovery program addressed the question: What is the nature of addiction recovery for pregnant and parenting-women in an addiction treatment program? Grounded theory methodology was used to determine the nature of the interpersonal and social processes that define addiction recovery for women in this study. Over 2 years, audiotaped semi-structured interviews, document reviews of medical records, treatment progress and group therapy notes, and participant observation notes were collected and analyzed. The constant comparison method of analysis involved an ongoing process of theoretical sampling, memoing, and open and then axial coding to identify, group, link, and reduce the categories produced. A developmental model of addiction recovery in pregnant and parenting women emerged that consisted of the dimensions of becoming drug and alcohol free, a partner in a relationship, a person, and a parent. These four dimensions parallel and transform each other, yielding different outcomes but similar patterns over time. This model of addiction recovery provides a beginning framework for understanding the transactional nature of addiction recovery for low-income women who are adapting to a drug and alcohol-free lifestyle and the task and role of parenting a newborn.