READING AND LANGUAGE IN 9 TO 12-YEAR OLDS PRENATALLY EXPOSED TO CIGARETTES AND MARIJUANA

Facets of reading and language were examined in 131 9- to 12-year-old children for whom prenatal exposure to marijuana and cigarettes had be en ascertained. The subjects were from a low-risk, predominantly middl e class sample who are participants in an ongoing longitudinal study. Discriminant Function Analysis revealed a dose-dependent association t hat remained after controlling for potential confounds, between prenat al cigarette exposure and lower language and lower reading scores, par ticularly on auditory-related aspects of this latter measure. The find ings are interpreted as consistent with earlier observations of an ass ociation between cigarette smoking during pregnancy and altered audito ry functioning in the offspring. Similarities and differences between the reading observations and dyslexia are discussed. Maternal prenatal passive smoke exposure did not appear to contribute to either the lan guage or reading outcomes at this age but postnatal secondhand smoke e xposure by the child was associated with poorer language scores. Prena tal marijuana exposure was not significantly related to either the rea ding or language outcomes. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.