Problem-solving ability of inner-city children with and without in utero cocaine exposure

To evaluate the problem-solving abilities of a cohort of inner-city cocaine -exposed children and controls, children were invited to play with the Good man Lock Box, a large red and blue box with 10 compartments, each having a different lock and toy. Examiners, blinded to the children's group status, coded the children's activities during the 6.5-minute play period. Nineteen behaviors were collapsed into three outcomes: Aimless Actions, Competence, and Mental Organization. Groups' scores were compared with scores of the G oodman standardization sample of mixed socioeconomic status preschoolers. S eventy-three cocaine-exposed children and 82 controls were evaluated at age 3.5 years; of these, 58 cocaine-exposed and 63 controls were reevaluated a t age 4.5 years. The groups' scores did not differ on any outcome at either time point (p greater than or equal to .22). However, both groups' Mental Organization scores were consistently lower than the Goodman group at each age (p < .01). This highrisk cohort may experience problems functioning in more complex environments such as the classroom.