Prenatal cocaine exposure and children's language functioning at 6 and 9.5 years: moderating effects of child age, birthweight, and gender.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate whether prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE), or the interaction between PCE and contextual variables, is associated with children's language at age 6 and 9.5 years, adjusting for relevant covariates.


METHODS
Analyses were based on 160 low-income, urban children from a prospective study who completed a standardized language assessment at 6 and 9.5 years. PCE was determined using neonatal meconium assays and maternal self-report.


RESULTS
Significant interaction effects of PCE on language outcomes were found in multivariate longitudinal analyses using generalized estimating equations (GEE). Children with PCE had lower receptive language than unexposed children at 6 but not at 9.5 years, lower expressive language if they had lower birthweight, and lower expressive and total language if they were female. Other risk (e.g., violence exposure) and protective factors (e.g., preschool experience) were related to language outcomes regardless of PCE status.


CONCLUSIONS
Age, birthweight, and gender moderated the relation between PCE and school-aged children's language.
Beeghly
Marjorie
M
Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School & Children's Hospital, Child Development Unit, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. marjorie.beeghly@childrens.harvard.edu
Martin
Brett
B
Rose-Jacobs
Ruth
R
Cabral
Howard
H
Heeren
Tim
T
Augustyn
Marilyn
M
Bellinger
David
D
Frank
Deborah A
DA
D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D003042:Cocaine / Q000032:analysis; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008470:Meconium / Q000737:chemistry; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors
D003042:Cocaine