Parent ratings of behavior in children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and IQ-matched controls

Background: Behavioral disturbances are well documented in children with he avy prenatal alcohol exposure. However, the degree to which these disturban ces are related to factors other than alcohol, such as general intellectual functioning or socioeconomic status, is not known. Methods: Using the Child Behavior Checklist, parent-rated behaviors of chil dren with histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure were compared with t hose of a control group matched by age, sex socioeconomic status. ethnicity , and verbal IQ score. Using this same questionnaire, children with fetal a lcohol syndrome were compared with children with heavy prenatal alcohol exp osure that did nor meet the criteria for fetal alcohol syndrome classificat ion. Results: Data were analyzed by multivariate analyses of covariance. In the comparison of children with and without a history of prenatal alcohol expos ure, significant differences were found on the competence, problem, and sum mary scales (all p < 0.05). For the secondary comparison between the fetal alcohol syndrome and the heavy prenatal alcohol exposure groups, there were no significant differences on any of the scales (all p > 0.10). Conclusions: These results suggest that prenatal alcohol exposure results i n the significant and profound impairment of parent-rated behaviors and tha t these deficits are not explained entirely by the presence or absence of f acial dysmorphology, general intellectual functioning, or demographic facto rs.