Description: The National Harm Reduction Coalition defines harm reduction as “a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm Reduction is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs” (https://harmreduction.org/about-us/principles-of-harm-reduction/).
Counter to the definition of harm reduction, stigmatization of parents who use psychoactive substances (e.g., alcohol, cannabis, misuse of prescription medication, stimulants, and opioids) may result in the problematic belief that parents who use psychoactive substances are incapable of being "good" parents. However, psychoactive substance use alone does not always predict suboptimal parenting behaviors. This special issue invites papers that:
(1) seek to understand whether psychoactive substance use uniquely predicts parenting behaviors, above and beyond contextual factors (such as socioeconomic strain);
(2) examine the ways that parents who use psychoactive substances are capable of adequate and optimal parenting; and
(3) consider approaches to applying a harm reduction framework towards understanding that parenting and psychoactive substance use can (and do) co-exist if adequate parental supports are in place.
We are particularly interested in papers that consider intervention adaptations that emphasize safer substance use for parents towards the goal of preventing child maltreatment (e.g., ensuring parents are not using substances while actively caring for their children; ensuring children do not have access to substances).
This special issue is also motivated by the recent $29 million in funding for harm reduction from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/sp-22-001). We hope to inspire researchers to investigate innovative ways to apply harm reduction principles to parenting.
