Work

Determining the impact of prenatal tobacco exposure on self-regulation at 6 months.

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: Our goal in the present study was to examine the effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on infant self-regulation, exploring birth weight as a mediator and sex as a moderator of risk. A prospective sample of 218 infants was assessed at 6 months of age. Infants completed a battery of tasks assessing working memory/inhibition, attention, and emotional reactivity and regulation. Propensity scores were used to statistically control for confounding risk factors associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy. After prenatal and postnatal confounds were controlled, prenatal tobacco exposure was related to reactivity to frustration and control of attention during stimulus encoding. Birth weight did not mediate the effect of prenatal exposure but was independently related to reactivity and working memory/inhibition. The effect of tobacco exposure was not moderated by sex.

Source: Developmental Psychology

DOI: 10.1037/a0035904

Authors: Sandra A. Wiebe, Hua Fang, Craig Johnson, Karen E. James, Kimberly Andrews Espy

Institutions: University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Language: English

Topic: Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects

Subfield: Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse