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Prenatal cocaine exposure and child behavior
V Delaney-Black1, C Covington, T Templin
1Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, College of Nursing, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Insights
Prenatal cocaine exposure in children was linked to increased problem behaviors reported by teachers. This study used blinded teacher ratings to assess behavioral differences in early elementary students.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatric Health
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to substances like cocaine can impact child development.
- Previous teacher reports suggest a link between prenatal cocaine exposure and behavioral issues in children.
- Understanding these effects is crucial for early intervention and support.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate whether children exposed to cocaine prenatally exhibit more problem behaviors as reported by teachers.
- To assess the validity of teacher reports in identifying behavioral differences in cocaine-exposed children.
Main Methods:
- A historical, prospective study design involving 116 mothers and 102 first-grade teachers.
- Teachers, blinded to exposure status, used Conners' Teacher Rating Scales (CTRS) and the Problem Behavior Scale (PROBS 14) to rate child behavior.
- Maternal interviews collected demographic and socioeconomic data.
Main Results:
- While CTRS subscales showed higher scores for the cocaine-exposed group, the overall analysis was not significant.
- Children exposed to cocaine prenatally scored higher on 11 of 14 PROBS items, with a significant overall multivariate analysis of variance.
- These findings held even after controlling for gender and prenatal exposure to alcohol and cigarettes.
Conclusions:
- Blinded teacher ratings indicate that children with prenatal cocaine exposure demonstrate significantly more problem behaviors.
- This pilot study provides initial support for the observed behavioral differences.
- Further research is needed to explore postnatal factors and establish causation.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to evaluate previous teacher reports that children exposed to cocaine prenatally have more problem behaviors.
Methods:
A historical, prospective design was used. Maternal subjects (n = 116) of 6-year-old singleton, term (>/=36 weeks) children, and the children's first-grade teachers (n = 102) agreed to participate. The child's first-grade teacher, blinded to study design and exposure status, rated the child's behavior with the Conners' Teacher Rating Scales (CTRS) and an investigator-developed scale, the Problem Behavior Scale (PROBS 14), measuring behaviors reported by educators to be specific to cocaine exposure. Mothers were interviewed by telephone regarding demographic and socioeconomic factors.
Results:
Although the cocaine-exposed group had higher (more problem behaviors) for each of the CTRS subscales, the overall multivariate analysis of variance for the CTRS was not significant. Children exposed to cocaine prenatally had higher scores (more problem behaviors) for 11 of the 14 PROBS items and the overall multivariate analysis of variance relating prenatal cocaine exposure to the PROBS was significant (Wilkes' lambda =.775), even after controlling for gender and prenatal exposure to alcohol and cigarettes.
Conclusions:
This pilot study supports that teachers blinded to exposure status of early elementary students did rate the cocaine-exposed group as demonstrating significantly more problem behaviors than control children. Although an important first step, postnatal factors that also may influence behavior were not evaluated; hence, causation is not addressed.