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Published on: August 25, 2014
Cocaine-exposed infant behavior during Still-Face: risk factor analyses.
Marilyn W Lewis1, Gary Phillips, Melissa Bowser
1College of Social Work, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. lewis.998@osu.edu
The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
|March 18, 2009
Summary
Prenatal cocaine exposure did not show male infants having greater socioemotional interaction disruptions. Caregiver vocalizations varied, but the hypothesis of higher risk for male cocaine-exposed infants was not supported.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) is linked to developmental risks.
- Infant-caregiver interactions are crucial for socioemotional development.
- Gender may modulate the effects of PCE on infant behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if 6-month-old male infants with PCE exhibit greater socioemotional interaction disruptions.
- To examine gender-specific effects of PCE on infant-caregiver interactions during the Still-Face paradigm.
Main Methods:
- Risk factor analyses were employed.
- The Still-Face test was used to assess infant-caregiver socioemotional interactions.
- Infant behavior (toy looking, environmental scanning) and caregiver vocalizations were measured.
Main Results:
- Non-exposed infants spent more time looking at toys than exposed infants.
- Non-exposed females scanned the environment more than non-exposed males.
- Caregivers vocalized more to cocaine-exposed infants but reduced vocalizations more with cocaine-exposed females.
Conclusions:
- The hypothesis that male infants exposed to cocaine prenatally are at higher risk was not supported at 6 months.
- An exposure by gender interaction was observed in caregiver vocalizations.
- Further research is needed to determine the age at which this interaction emerges.
