This paper was designed to examine the effect of social support on child maltreatment among at-risk mothers. We also explored whether the association between the social support and child maltreatment was affected by the mother’s substance abuse history. This cross-sectional study utilized secondary data from LONGSCAN. The study sample (n = 335) was comprised primarily of impoverished African American mothers. Logistic regression analysis results showed social support reduced the likelihood of child maltreatment for both mothers who had histories of substance use and those who did not. Implications of the findings are further discussed. Keywords: child maltreatment, social support, mothers, substance use, stres
