by Cathy Wilde
A study by Rina Das Eiden has shown that a mother's harshness toward her child is a predictor of problem behaviors in kindergarten.
It is not only prenatal drug exposure, but also conditions related to drug use that can influence negative behavior in children, according to a new study from the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions.
In examining the long-term effects of cocaine use during pregnancy in a sample of low-income, cocaine-exposed and non-exposed families, researchers found that a mother's harshness toward her child during mother-child interactions at 2 years of age is one of the strongest predictors of problem behaviors in kindergarten, such as fighting, aggression and defiance.
Rina Das Eiden, PhD, the study's principal investigator, is conducting a multi-year study on the direct and indirect effects of prenatal drug use, following more than 200 mother and child pairs. It is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Maternal harshness, such as threats of physical discipline, can be influenced by drug use. Animal studies have shown that prenatal cocaine use can affect parenting by lowering the bonding hormones mothers usually experience after birth, resulting in less emotional engagement with the child.
"Although prenatal cocaine exposure clearly can have negative health effects on children, the behavior problems may not only be due to what happens in the womb, but also to the effects of cocaine use on the mother," Eiden says. "Higher maternal harshness in cocaine-using mothers could also be due to other unmeasured variables, such as the mothers' own childhood experiences.
"Women who use cocaine have a harder time helping their children learn to self-regulate their behavior in the preschool years, which can lead to more negative behavior in kindergarten," she says.
Other risks factors shown to negatively affect behavior of all children in this low-income sample are a higher likelihood of hunger and living in communities that regularly experience violence.
Eiden says parenting interventions in high-risk family situations while children are young may help reduce maternal harshness and promote self-control in children.
The study, published in a recent edition of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, was co-authored by Claire Coles, PhD, Emory University School of Medicine; Pamela Schuetze, PhD, SUNY Buffalo State; and Craig Colder, PhD, UB professor of psychology.
Explore further: Parents' separation found to boost children's behavior problems, but only in high-income families
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
Prenatal Cocaine Exposure Impairs Infants' Response to Stress
Jan 20, 2009
(PhysOrg.com) -- Infants exposed prenatally to cocaine react more emotionally to stress and appear to have fewer stress-reducing coping strategies than infants with no cocaine exposure, researchers at the University at Buffalo's ...
'Crack baby' scare overblown, teen research says
May 27, 2013
Research in teens adds fresh evidence that the 1980s "crack baby" scare was overblown, finding little proof of any major long-term ill effects in children whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy.
Where there is smoke, there may be developmental problems for kids
Mar 08, 2012
(Medical Xpress) -- The dangers of cigarette smoking are common knowledge. And when it comes to smoking while pregnant, life-threatening health hazards extend to the fetus and newborn.
Prenatal drug exposure linked to sleep problems in children
Jun 10, 2008
In the first study across time into late childhood of the effects of prenatal drug exposure on sleep, prenatal drug exposure is associated with greater sleep problems in children. In addition, nicotine has a unique effect, ...
Parents' separation found to boost children's behavior problems, but only in high-income families
Sep 10, 2014
Before they reach young adulthood, most children in the United States will experience their parents separating, divorcing, finding another partner, or getting remarried.
Recommended for you
US: Heroin deaths doubled in much of the country (Update)
Oct 02, 2014
Deaths from heroin overdose doubled in just two years in much of the United States, a new government study says.
Study finds relationship between neighborhood drug sales and drug use
Oct 02, 2014
For decades, research has generally focused on individual, family and peer factors to explain illicit drug use, neglecting neighborhood factors as a cause. While the scant previous research on neighborhood ...
Study confirms breast cancer link to low alcohol use
Sep 26, 2014
A newly published study from the University of Victoria's Centre for Addictions Research of BC (CARBC) confirms that moderate drinkers have an increased risk of breast cancer. The study shows that consuming an average of ...
Teens who smoke marijuana are at risk of dangerous brain, health disorders
Sep 26, 2014
Whether states should legalize marijuana for recreational and medical use is a hot topic across the country. As the debate continues, more preteens, teens and young adults are beginning to use the substance with the feeling ...
Six Russians die, 36 in hospital after smoking designer drug
Sep 26, 2014
Six Russians have died and dozens have been hospitalised after they smoked a legal synthetic drug in the far northern city of Surgut, prosecutors said Friday.
Not all Hispanics are the same when it comes to drinking
Sep 25, 2014
Hispanics are often grouped into a single category when it comes to alcohol use. Yet a new Michigan State University study indicates that the risk of alcohol abuse and dependence can vary significantly among different subgroups ...
User comments
© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
by Cathy Wilde
A study by Rina Das Eiden has shown that a mother's harshness toward her child is a predictor of problem behaviors in kindergarten.
It is not only prenatal drug exposure, but also conditions related to drug use that can influence negative behavior in children, according to a new study from the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions.
In examining the long-term effects of cocaine use during pregnancy in a sample of low-income, cocaine-exposed and non-exposed families, researchers found that a mother's harshness toward her child during mother-child interactions at 2 years of age is one of the strongest predictors of problem behaviors in kindergarten, such as fighting, aggression and defiance.
Rina Das Eiden, PhD, the study's principal investigator, is conducting a multi-year study on the direct and indirect effects of prenatal drug use, following more than 200 mother and child pairs. It is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Maternal harshness, such as threats of physical discipline, can be influenced by drug use. Animal studies have shown that prenatal cocaine use can affect parenting by lowering the bonding hormones mothers usually experience after birth, resulting in less emotional engagement with the child.
"Although prenatal cocaine exposure clearly can have negative health effects on children, the behavior problems may not only be due to what happens in the womb, but also to the effects of cocaine use on the mother," Eiden says. "Higher maternal harshness in cocaine-using mothers could also be due to other unmeasured variables, such as the mothers' own childhood experiences.
"Women who use cocaine have a harder time helping their children learn to self-regulate their behavior in the preschool years, which can lead to more negative behavior in kindergarten," she says.
Other risks factors shown to negatively affect behavior of all children in this low-income sample are a higher likelihood of hunger and living in communities that regularly experience violence.
Eiden says parenting interventions in high-risk family situations while children are young may help reduce maternal harshness and promote self-control in children.
The study, published in a recent edition of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, was co-authored by Claire Coles, PhD, Emory University School of Medicine; Pamela Schuetze, PhD, SUNY Buffalo State; and Craig Colder, PhD, UB professor of psychology.
Explore further: Parents' separation found to boost children's behavior problems, but only in high-income families
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
Prenatal Cocaine Exposure Impairs Infants' Response to Stress
Jan 20, 2009
(PhysOrg.com) -- Infants exposed prenatally to cocaine react more emotionally to stress and appear to have fewer stress-reducing coping strategies than infants with no cocaine exposure, researchers at the University at Buffalo's ...
'Crack baby' scare overblown, teen research says
May 27, 2013
Research in teens adds fresh evidence that the 1980s "crack baby" scare was overblown, finding little proof of any major long-term ill effects in children whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy.
Where there is smoke, there may be developmental problems for kids
Mar 08, 2012
(Medical Xpress) -- The dangers of cigarette smoking are common knowledge. And when it comes to smoking while pregnant, life-threatening health hazards extend to the fetus and newborn.
Prenatal drug exposure linked to sleep problems in children
Jun 10, 2008
In the first study across time into late childhood of the effects of prenatal drug exposure on sleep, prenatal drug exposure is associated with greater sleep problems in children. In addition, nicotine has a unique effect, ...
Parents' separation found to boost children's behavior problems, but only in high-income families
Sep 10, 2014
Before they reach young adulthood, most children in the United States will experience their parents separating, divorcing, finding another partner, or getting remarried.
Recommended for you
US: Heroin deaths doubled in much of the country (Update)
Oct 02, 2014
Deaths from heroin overdose doubled in just two years in much of the United States, a new government study says.
Study finds relationship between neighborhood drug sales and drug use
Oct 02, 2014
For decades, research has generally focused on individual, family and peer factors to explain illicit drug use, neglecting neighborhood factors as a cause. While the scant previous research on neighborhood ...
Study confirms breast cancer link to low alcohol use
Sep 26, 2014
A newly published study from the University of Victoria's Centre for Addictions Research of BC (CARBC) confirms that moderate drinkers have an increased risk of breast cancer. The study shows that consuming an average of ...
Teens who smoke marijuana are at risk of dangerous brain, health disorders
Sep 26, 2014
Whether states should legalize marijuana for recreational and medical use is a hot topic across the country. As the debate continues, more preteens, teens and young adults are beginning to use the substance with the feeling ...
Six Russians die, 36 in hospital after smoking designer drug
Sep 26, 2014
Six Russians have died and dozens have been hospitalised after they smoked a legal synthetic drug in the far northern city of Surgut, prosecutors said Friday.
Not all Hispanics are the same when it comes to drinking
Sep 25, 2014
Hispanics are often grouped into a single category when it comes to alcohol use. Yet a new Michigan State University study indicates that the risk of alcohol abuse and dependence can vary significantly among different subgroups ...
User comments
© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
0 comments:
Post a Comment