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Maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy and criminal/deviant behavior: a meta-analysis
Travis C Pratt1, Jean Marie McGloin, Noelle E Fearn
1Department of Political Science/Criminal Justice, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4880, USA. tpratt@mail.wsu.edu
Summary
Maternal cigarette smoking (MCS) during pregnancy shows a small, statistically significant link to children's later antisocial behavior. This relationship
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Inconsistent findings exist regarding maternal cigarette smoking (MCS) during pregnancy and offspring's antisocial behavior.
- Understanding MCS as a criminogenic risk factor is crucial for public health and developmental research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically assess the relationship between MCS and children's subsequent antisocial behavior through meta-analysis.
- To quantify the effect size and examine methodological influences on the MCS-crime/deviance link.
Main Methods:
- A meta-analysis was conducted on existing empirical literature examining MCS and offspring's antisocial behavior.
- Statistical analysis focused on the overall mean effect size and its sensitivity to study specifications.
Main Results:
- A statistically significant, though small, overall mean effect size was found for the relationship between MCS and deviant/criminal behavior in children.
- The MCS-crime/deviance relationship was found to be sensitive to methodological variations, particularly sample characteristics.
Conclusions:
- The link between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring's antisocial behavior is modest and somewhat unstable.
- Future research should address methodological limitations and integrate theoretical perspectives to explain this association.
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