Frequency of Prenatal Drug Abuse: Assessment, Obstacles, and Policy Implications

Abstract

The scope of interventions into social problems is based on an accurate assessment of the nature of that problem. An accurate, biased or ambiguous analysis has serious consequences for the efficacy of social interventions. This may indeed be the case with studies on the prevalence of prenatal drug use. This paper examines 23 studies conducted since 1980 and finds that the data have a number of serious methodological issues that compromise their utility in determining the breadth and characteristics of the problem.