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This study examined the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure, environmental risk, and maternal verbal intelligence on children's cognitive ability. Gender and age were examined as moderators of potential cocaine exposure effects. The Stanford-Binet IV intelligence test was administered to 231 children (91 cocaine exposed, 140 unexposed) at ages 4, 6, and 9 years. Neonatal medical risk and other prenatal exposures (alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana) were also examined for their unique effects on child IQ. Mixed models analysis indicated that prenatal cocaine exposure interacted with gender, as cocaine-exposed boys had lower composite IQ scores. Age at assessment did not moderate this relation, indicating that cocaine-exposed boys had lower IQs across this age period. A stimulating home environment and high maternal verbal IQ also predicted higher composite IQ scores. Cocaine-exposed boys had lower scores on the Abstract/Visual Reasoning subscale, with trends for lower scores on the Short-Term Memory and Verbal Reasoning subscales, as exposure effects were observed across domains. The findings indicate that cocaine exposure continues to place children at risk for mild cognitive deficits into preadolescence. Possible mechanisms for the Exposure x Gender interaction are discussed. (Contains 1 footnote, 3 tables, and 1 figure.)

Children prenatally exposed to cocaine may be at elevated risk for adjustment problems in early development because of greater reactivity and reduced regulation during challenging tasks. Few studies have examined whether cocaine-exposed children show such difficulties during the preschool years, a period marked by increased social and cognitive demands and by rapid changes in reactivity and regulation. The authors addressed this question by examining frustration reactivity and regulation of behavior during a problem-solving task in cocaine-exposed and-unexposed preschoolers. Participants were 174 4.5-year-olds (M age = 4.55 years, SD = 0.09). Frustration reactivity was measured as latency to show frustration and number of disruptive behaviors, whereas regulation was measured as latency to approach and attempt the problem-solving task and number of problem-solving behaviors. Results indicated that cocaine-exposed children took longer to attempt the problem-solving task but that cocaine-exposed boys showed the most difficulties: They were quicker to express frustration and were more disruptive. Effect sizes were relatively small, suggesting both resilience and vulnerabilities.

Differentiation models contend that the organization of facial expressivity increases during infancy. Accordingly, infants are believed to exhibit increasingly specific facial expressions in response to stimuli as a function of development. This study tested this hypothesis in a sample of 151 infants (83 boys and 68 girls) observed in 4 situations (tickle, sour taste, arm restraint, and masked stranger) at 4 and 12 months of age. Three of the 4 situations showed evidence of increasing specificity over time. In response to tickle, the number of infants exhibiting joy expressions increased and the number exhibiting interest, surprise, and surprise blends decreased from 4 to 12 months. In tasting a sour substance, more infants exhibited disgust and fewer exhibited joy and interest expressions, and fear and surprise blends over time. For arm restraint, more infants exhibited anger expressions and anger blends and fewer exhibited interest and surprise expressions and surprise blends over time. In response to a masked stranger, however, no evidence of increased specificity was found. Overall, these findings suggest that infants increasingly exhibit particular expressions in response to specific stimuli during the 1st year of life. These data provide partial support for the hypothesis that facial expressivity becomes increasingly organized over time. (Contains 2 footnotes, 1 table, and 1 figure.)

Examined 4-year-olds for effects on IQ of prenatal cocaine exposure, exposure to other substances, risk factors, and neonatal medical problems. Found that maternal verbal IQ and low environmental risk predicted child IQ. Cocaine exposure negatively predicted children's overall IQ and verbal reasoning scores for boys only. Maternal harsh discipline, maternal depressive symptoms, and increased environmental risk predicted externalizing problems. Only maternal depressive symptoms predicted internalizing problems. (Author/KB)

Compared cognitive functioning of infants--at 8 and 18 months--with varying levels of prenatal cocaine exposure. Found that, with risk and polydrug exposure controlled, exposure groups did not differ at 8 months on Bayley Scales or recovery to a novel stimulus. Infants with heavy exposure or high environmental risk declined in mental development from 8 to 18 months. (Author)

Examined arousal regulation as a function of levels of prenatal cocaine exposure in 4-month-olds, using a "still face" procedure. Found that, independent of several other factors, a greater percentage of heavily cocaine-exposed infants, compared to unexposed infants, showed less enjoyment during "en face" play with their mothers and continued to show negative expressions during play resumption following an interruption. (Author)

This study examined mother-infant interactions of 12-month-old African-American prenatally cocaine-exposed infants and their mothers. Videotaped observations were made during a free-play dyadic interaction, a brief separation, and a reunion period. Videotapes were coded for maternal and child behaviors during each phase of the procedure. Although there were few differences in interactive behaviors between prenatally cocaine-exposed and nonexposed children and their mothers, children who were prenatally exposed to cocaine ignored their mother's departure (odds ratio [OR] = 3.0, p < .05) during separation significantly more often than nonexposed subjects. In addition, mothers who abused cocaine engaged in significantly more verbal behavior (F(2,104) = 7.00, p < .001) with their children than mothers of nonexposed children. These findings indicate that women who used cocaine during pregnancy may not differ from nonusers in their interactions with their 12-month-old infants. Key Words: Mother-child interaction; Prenatal cocaine exposure., INTRODUCTION Although children play with their peers, a predominant amount of play in young children is between mother and child. Vygotsky (1) suggests that, for toddlers, play serves as a [...]

This study examined the drug use patterns of pregnant women in two inner city sites, selected to overrepresent cocaine users. Women who used cocaine were much more likely to have used some combination of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana in addition to cocaine during pregnancy. There was little difference in the patterns of drug use in the two study sites, Trenton, New Jersey, and northwestern Philadelphia. A number of demographic and lifestyle variables of cocaine users, soft drug users (cigarettes, alcohol, and/or marijuana), and abstainers were compared. The cocaine-using group was significantly older and had more children, had less stable and more isolated living situations, was less likely to be employed and more likely to be receiving public assistance during pregnancy, and was more likely to have a higher drug- and alcohol-using social environment and family history than soft drug users or abstainers. Of significance was that many of the high-risk lifestyle factors exhibited by cocaine users were also seen, albeit to a lesser extent, among the soft drug users. These findings have implications for the timing of intervention strategies that would be most effective., INTRODUCTION Drug use continues to be a major problem in the United States. It is of particular concern when the user is a pregnant woman and the substances to which [...]

Premature infants are often hospitalized for prolonged periods and as a consequence normal early interaction between the newborn and parent is disrupted. Neonatal intensive care units have become relaxed in permitting visitation, in order to increase contact between a newborn and family. Early contact between a newborn and its parents influences caregiving behavior after hospital discharge, the occurrence of abuse and neglect, and the intellectual development and mental health of the child. Visitation to the neonatal intensive care unit has not been extensively studied. The relationship between visitation patterns to a neonatal intensive care unit, infant and family factors, and compliance with follow-up medical visits three months after birth was assessed. The study involved 164 premature newborns. The number of visitors decreased and days without visitors tended to increase between the second and twelfth days of hospitalization, and remained constant thereafter. Infants with bleeding into the brain (intraventricular hemorrhage), those with parents who were not living together, or those with a very sick mother, and infants who were not first born tended to have few visitors. As the number of days without visitors increased, the compliance with the three-month follow-up decreased. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Abstract. The independent impacts of severe intraventricular hemorrhage, other common medical complications of prematurity, and socioeconomic status on the development in the second year of life of 32 low birth weight subjects were explored. Outcome measures included standard tests of mental and motor development, an evaluation of language competence, and an assessment of information processing ability in a habituation/recovery paradigm. Partial correlations indicated that intraventricular hemorrhage influences cognitive and motor development independently of the other predictor variables. Socioeconomic status predicted language ability and recovery of attention to a novel stimulus independent of the other predictors. Medical complications other than intraventricular hemorrhage also made an independent contribution to the variance in language outcome. Implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]