title: Children's cognitive-behavioral functioning at age 6 and 7: prenatal drug exposure and caregiving environment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to examine how prenatal drug exposure (PDE) and caregiving environment relate to cognitive, academic, and behavioral performance at ages 6 and 7.
  
  
  METHODS
  A longitudinal follow-up was conducted of 111 children with PDE and a community cohort of 62 non-drug-exposed children (N = 173). Children completed standardized tests of cognition (Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fourth Edition [SB-IV]) and academic performance (Wide Range Achievement Test 3). Caregivers completed ratings of child behavior problems (Child Behavior Checklist [CBCL]). Multivariate analyses were conducted, adjusting for gender, prenatal tobacco exposure, number of caregiver placement changes, and 3 caregiver variables assessed at age 7, including depressive symptoms, employment status, and public assistance status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjusting for perinatal and environmental variables, there were no significant exposure-group differences in cognition, academic performance, or behavior problems. In comparison with males, females had higher scores on overall IQ and 4 of 8 SB-IV subtests, fewer caregiver-reported attention and aggression problems, and higher reading achievement scores. There were no significant gender-by-group interactions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When analyses were adjusted for perinatal and environmental variables, most associations between PDE and cognitive-behavioral functioning were attenuated. Regardless of drug exposure history, males performed more poorly than females on multiple cognitive-behavioral indices. Both exposed and nonexposed children were from low-income families and obtained scores substantially below normative expectations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md., USA. pnair@peds.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Prasanna
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: Maureen M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Ackerman
authors.forename: Maureen E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schuler
authors.forename: Virginia A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Keane
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy