Functional and Neuropsychological Abilities in Adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Objective : This study investigated functional and neuropsychological abilities in adults with mild to moderate fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Method : Sixty-eight participants completed various neuropsychological tests such as the California Verbal Learning Test – 2 nd edition (CVLT-2), Trail Making Test parts A and B (TMTA/TMTB), Stroop Color and Word Test (Stroop), Grooved Pegboard Test (GPT), Finger Tapping Test (FTT), and Independent Living Scales (ILS). Independent samples t -tests were used to compare performance between brain scores 2 and 3. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to identify predictors for brain scores. Results : Adults with severe impairment (i.e., a brain score of 3) performed significantly worse than those with milder brain dysfunction (i.e., a brain score of 2) on TMTB, Stroop, CVLT-2, and ILS (money management, and managing home and transportation subscales). Test scores from the CVLT-2 (long-delay cued recall) and ILS (money management subscale) predicted brain scores. Conclusions : Psychosocial ability remained low in all participants and should be assessed as a discrete factor for guiding interventions in adults. The results provided an important piece of reference in support of the inclusion of psycho-emotional elements in the new diagnostic guidelines for FASD.