Examination of the relationship between social support and treatment outcomes in mothers referred by Child Protective Services utilizing the Significant Other Support Scale

ABSTRACT

Supportive social networks may play an important role in recovery for mothers within the umbrella of Child Protective Services (CPS). However, investigators have yet to develop methods of measuring how significant others contribute to the treatment and recovery process. In this study, the influence of significant others was examined in the family-based treatment of 38 mothers who were referred for Family Behavior Therapy by CPS. The Significant Other Support Scale (SOSS) was empirically developed and subsequently utilized to assess the extent to which participants’ significant others were perceived by treatment providers to support the participants’ goals during treatment sessions. Results indicated that SOSS scores (but not participant and significant other session attendance) were associated with lower participant child abuse potential and drug use frequency at the conclusion of treatment. There was no relationship found between SOSS scores and participant session attendance. However, there was a positive correlation between SOSS scores and significant other session attendance (r = .489, p < .01). The results of this study suggest the quality of significant other support during treatment sessions in this population of mothers may be more important to improving treatment outcomes than session attendance per se. Future directions are discussed in light of the results, including methods of using SOSS scores to assist family-based treatments.