Substance use and crime as predictors and consequences of custody issues: A longitudinal analysis of African American mothers

This study longitudinally evaluates the relationship between child custody issues and substance use and criminal involvement among a sample of African American mothers. While rates of substance use are similar across racial groups in the US, African Americans disproportionately experience child welfare and criminal justice system involvement as a result of illicit substance use. The main objectives in this dissertation project were to identify risk factors for custody issues, assess the substance use and criminal behavior-related outcomes of custody issues, and determine how negative emotions and social support might mediate or moderate the relationship between a custody issue and negative behavioral outcomes. Three types of custody issues were examined separately: having an open child protective services case, official custody loss, and unofficial custody loss wherein one or more children are living with someone other than the mother but not via court or Child Welfare Service mandate. Experiencing a custody issue was framed as a strain-producing event using Robert Agnew's General Strain Theory. Women in this study were recruited across different criminal justice statuses prison, probation, and community (no criminal justice involvement). In total, a sub-set of 339 mothers comprised the sample for these analyses.;Using multilevel mixed effects regression models, this research substantiated previous research findings that substance use and crime do indeed predict custody issues. Additionally, this study revealed that custody issues predict an increase in substance use and criminal behavior for this sample of African American mothers, but in a nuanced way. Specifically, the type of custody issue experienced and the presence or absence of negative emotions and social support as moderators are of key importance. Furthermore, unofficial custody loss is related to increased other drug use, but only for women with low levels of perceived social support. Official custody loss, on the other hand, predicts increased other drug use, but only when accompanied by high levels of negative emotions. Implications for General Strain Theory, Child Welfare System policy, and future research are discussed.;KEYWORDS: substance use, crime, mothers, child custody, General Strain Theory.