The impact of intensive case-managed intervention on substance-using pregnant and postpartum women.

This study examines the impact of the Women's Intervention Services and Education (WISE) Project in serving substance-using pregnant and postpartum women through an array of case-managed services and supports. A descriptive analysis of multiple outcome indicators was performed on 152 women who had a minimum 6 months of exposure to WISE services at the time of the analysis. The variables used in the analysis to assess client and program outcomes included substance use, employment, arrests, incarceration, birthweight, and social support. This group of women showed statistically significant improvements across each of these multiple outcome indicators from pre-WISE to WISE discharge. Although the findings of this study are not conclusive because no control group was employed, the results are encouraging and supportive of a growing body of literature that suggests that pregnant and postpartum polydrug-using women can be responsive to case-managed, intensive intervention, with aftercare support.

Case management of pregnant and parenting female crack and polydrug abusers.

The increasing use of crack-cocaine among addicted women and subsequent births of polydrug-exposed infants prompted the State of Florida to undertake initiatives to seek solutions to these problems. This study, focused on one of these initiatives, explored the relationship between service components of a comprehensive treatment program and substance-free time among 120 African American and Caucasian crack-cocaine addicted women. Findings from a multiple regression analysis indicated that aftercare management (p < .0001), vocational services (p < .02), and residential treatment (p < .03) were statistically significant services associated with substance-free time. Although these findings are not conclusive, they are supportive of a growing body of literature that suggests that crack-using and polydrug-using women can be responsive to treatment when it is tailored to their individual needs and includes long-term community support.

Stimulus control of stereotypic responding: effects on target and collateral behavior.

Inhibitory stimulus control over stereotypic responding of two profoundly retarded adults was established. Discrimination training using the overcorrection technique was carried out under conditions where a light on one end of a series of five lights signalled the presence of the punishment contingency and the light on the other end signalled nonpunishment. Tests for generalization of inhibition were made to all five lights in the series, resulting in generalization gradients. A multiple-baseline procedure was employed in which both target (punished) and nontarget stereotypies were recorded. Steep generalization gradients were obtained, indicating that the subjects were able to make sharp discriminations between safe and unsafe conditions. Deceleration of the target stereotypy was accompanied by marked increases in rates of nonpunished stereotypies. Orderly generalization gradients were obtained for the collateral behavior as well.