Background: It is widely known that prenatal alcohol exposure is related to
cognitive and behavioral deficits throughout childhood and adolescence. Mu
ch research has focused on understanding and quantifying the cognitive prof
ile of children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) with relatively less empi
rical research on behavioral or psychosocial adjustment. The primary purpos
e of this study was to examine the behavioral and psychosocial profile of c
hildren exposed to heavy amounts of alcohol prenatally.
Method: Two groups of subjects were evaluated: an alcohol-exposed group (AL
C) and a nonexposed control group (NC) each made up of 32 subjects matched
for age, gender, End ethnicity. The alcohol-exposed group consisted of chil
dren heavily exposed to alcohol in utero, including 19 children diagnosed w
ith FAS. The Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) was completed by the
caretaker of each child. Four validity/screening scales and 12 clinical sca
les were scored for all subjects.
Results: Analyses revealed significant group differences on four validity/s
creening scales and 12 substantive scales. Within the ALC group, the profil
e of children without FAS was similar to that of children with FAS, with th
e exception that their profiles were consistent with less cognitive impairm
ent.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that in addition to previously reporte
d cognitive impairments, heavy prenatal alcohol exposure is related to sign
ificant impairments in psychosocial functioning. Even children without alco
hol-related physical anomalies suffer from impaired psychosocial functionin
g. Because impairments of this nature can interfere with functioning across
multiple domains, effective early intervention programs should be consider
ed for families of alcohol-exposed children. Furthermore, given the similar
ities of alcohol-exposed children with and without FAS, it is imperative to
obtain prenatal alcohol exposure histories on all children experiencing co
gnitive or psychosocial deficits.