A Rural-Based Study of Developmental Outcomes in Young Children Prenatally Exposed to Cocaine

Abstract

This study was designed to determine if differences in cognitive functioning, as measured by scores on the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (AGS, 1995), persist as developmental outcomes between young rural-based children prenatally exposed to cocaine (n = 32) and young children not prenatally exposed to cocaine (n = 32). The subjects (N = 64) were identified and selected into this study by social and public health caseworkers, Head Start directors and teachers, preschool and early intervention program professionals in the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Subjects were matched according to the following selection criteria: (a) gender, (b) race, (c) age (month and year), (d) maternal marital status (single, married, divorced), (e) maternal age (between 16 and 20) (f) present residence (both parents, mother, father, extended family, foster care), (g) live in communities with less than 2,500 residents, (h) maternal education, and (i) family yearly income. Results from MANCOVA procedures indicated that a significant number of young rural-based children prenatally exposed to cocaine exhibited developmental problems in cognitive functioning related to expressive and receptive language areas, and these cognitive functioning deficits persisted across the length of the study. These findings suggest that there is a possible negative long-term relationship between prenatally cocaine exposure and subsequent deficits in cognitive functioning in this population of young children.