Ls. Chandler et al., PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO ALCOHOL AND MARIJUANA - EFFECTS ON MOTOR DEVELOPMENT OF PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN, Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 20(3), 1996, pp. 455-461
Gross motor development of preschool children prenatally exposed to al
cohol and marijuana was assessed as part of a longitudinal study. Most
mothers in the study were light to moderate users and discontinued or
decreased use of alcohol and marijuana after the first trimester of p
regnancy. The women were of lower socioeconomic status, half of the sa
mple was African-American, and most were single. Gross motor developme
nt was evaluated with balance and ball-handling items at 3 years. Bala
nce items included walking on a line, walking on a balance beam, stand
ing on one foot, standing on tiptoes, and stair climbing and descent.
Ball-handling items included catching, throwing, and kicking a ball. R
efusal to perform items was also recorded. Prenatal alcohol and mariju
ana exposure did not negatively affect gross motor development. The co
mposite score on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, age at assessm
ent, gender, and examiner were significant predictors of gross motor p
erformance and of refusal to participate in the balance items. The pon
deral index, number of siblings, current income, examiner, current mat
ernal use of tranquilizers, and first trimester exposure to amphetamin
es were also significant predictors of balance skills. Gender and numb
er of hospitalizations predicted refusal to participate in balance ite
ms, whereas hearing and vision problems predicted refusal on ball-hand
ling items. The components of timing, speed, and fine motor control ha
ve not been addressed in this study, and therefore it is premature to
conclude that there is no impact of prenatal substance use on motor de
velopment.