The Consequences of Postnatal Parental Opioid Misuse on Child Well-Being: a Scoping Review

Abstract Existing research on opioid misuse and child outcomes is scattered across subfields and nascent compared to scholarship regarding consequences for adults. This scoping review synthesizes studies examining postnatal consequences of parent opioid misuse for children. Findings from 52 studies showed a descriptive connection between parental opioid misuse and a range of adverse child outcomes including accidental poisonings, psychopathology, and child welfare system contact. It was unclear if connections between opioid misuse and child outcomes were due to opioids specifically or to related risk factors. Studies comparing opioids to other substances were inconclusive and few studies measured potential parenting mechanisms that may explain the association between opioid misuse and child outcomes.