RISK-FACTORS IN EARLY CHILD-DEVELOPMENT - IS PRENATAL COCAINE POLYDRUG EXPOSURE A KEY VARIABLE/

In order to explore the possible confounding effects of age, race, sex , and socioeconomic status on developmental outcomes of prenatal cocai ne exposure, two matched samples of preschoolers (20 children with coc aine/polydrug in utero exposure and 20 children with no prenatal drug exposure) were compared on the Stanford-Binet: 4th ed. (S-B: 4th ed.), Social Skills Rating System, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale-Survey Form, Preschool Language Scale: 3rd ed. (PLS: 3rd ed.), and the Child Behavior Checklist. None of the 40 children had attended or were curre ntly enrolled in preschool programs. Both groups had scores approximat ely one standard deviation below the expected mean in social skills, a uditory comprehension, and expressive language. Likewise, externalizin g behavior difficulties were approximately one standard deviation abov e the mean for both groups. Results suggest in utero drug exposure had no independent impact on cognitive, social, language, and behavioral developmental outcomes when the confounding variables of age, ethnicit y, gender, and SES were controlled. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.