Protective Factors Can Mitigate Behavior Problems After Prenatal Cocaine and Other Drug Exposures
Year: 2012
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: We determined the role of risk and protective factors on the trajectories of behavior problems associated with high prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE)/polydrug exposure. METHODS: The Maternal Lifestyle Study enrolled 1388 children with or without PCE, assessed through age 15 years. Because most women using cocaine during pregnancy also used other substances, we analyzed for the effects of 4 categories of prenatal drug exposure: high PCE/other drugs (OD), some PCE/OD, OD/no PCE, and no PCE/no OD. Risks and protective factors at individual, family, and community levels that may be associated with behavior outcomes were entered stepwise into latent growth curve models, then replaced by cumulative risk and protective indexes, and finally by a combination of levels of risk and protective indexes. Main outcome measures were the trajectories of externalizing, internalizing, total behavior, and attention problems scores from the Child Behavior Checklist (parent). RESULTS: A total of 1022 (73.6%) children had known outcomes. High PCE/OD significantly predicted externalizing, total, and attention problems when considering the balance between risk and protective indexes. Some PCE/OD predicted externalizing and attention problems. OD/no PCE also predicted behavior outcomes except for internalizing behavior. High level of protective factors was associated with declining trajectories of problem behavior scores over time, independent of drug exposure and risk index scores. CONCLUSIONS: High PCE/OD is a significant risk for behavior problems in adolescence; protective factors may attenuate its detrimental effects. Clinical practice and public health policies should consider enhancing protective factors while minimizing risks to improve outcomes of drug-exposed children.
Source: PEDIATRICS
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Center for Research Resources, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G110034798, Maternal Lifestyle Study Phase 5, NEURODEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS EXPOSED TO DRUGS IN-UTERO, G1612960859, GENERAL CLINICAL RESEARCH CENTER, G1667629460, G2191887755, G2320082243, G2422599716, NICHD Cooperative Multicenter Neonatal Research Network, G3197257863, G344228360, G4019174610, G4113560995, G5521690138, G5901210091, G6558373809, G797416242, G8489293398, G9000007951, G9000071653, G9000080593
OpenAlex ID: W2130160845