Prosocial coping and substance use during pregnancy.

In structured interviews of pregnant inner-city residents, 38 substance users reported more current liking of drugs and polysubstance use, disengagement coping, depressive symptoms, negative affect, and antisocial behavior than did 45 nonusers. During videotaped interviews, trained observers coded less warmth and less prosocial information exchange (e.g., self-disclosure, question asking) among users. Factor analysis of measures of coping and its concomitants yielded a three-factor (prosocial, antisocial, asocial) solution, with asocial and antisocial coping predominating among substance users. These results suggest that coping has emotional, social, and cognitive elements. This study is the first to demonstrate an association between a substance-using lifestyle and limited prosocial information exchange.