Maternal cocaine use: estimated effects on mother-child play interactions in the preschool period.
The study objective was to evaluate the quality of parent-child interactions in preschool-aged children exposed prenatally to cocaine. African-American mothers and their full-term newborns (n = 343) were enrolled prospectively at birth and classified as either prenatally cocaine-exposed (n = 157) or non-cocaine-exposed (n = 186) on the basis of maternal self-report and bioassays. Follow-up evaluations at 3 years of age (mean age, 40 mo) included a videotaped dyadic play session and maternal interviews to assess ongoing drug use and maternal psychological distress. Play interactions were coded using a modified version of Egeland et al's Teaching Task coding scheme. Regression analyses indicated cocaine-associated deficits in mother-child interaction, even with statistical adjustment for multiple suspected influences on interaction dynamics. Mother-child interactions were most impaired in cocaine-exposed dyads when the mother continued to report cocaine use at the 3-year follow-up. Multivariate profile analysis of the Egeland interaction subscales indicated greater maternal intrusiveness and hostility, poorer quality of instruction, lower maternal confidence, and diminished child persistence in the cocaine-exposed dyads.
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida 33101, USA. ajohnso1@med.miami.edu
Arnise L
AL
Johnson
Connie E
CE
Morrow
Veronica H
VH
Accornero
Lihua
L
Xue
James C
JC
Anthony
Emmalee S
ES
Bandstra
D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003042:Cocaine / Q000032:analysis; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D008470:Meconium / Q000737:chemistry; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010988:Play and Playthings; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D014743:Videotape Recording
D003042:Cocaine