Loading…

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 been ascertained. The subjects were from a low-risk, predominantly middle class sample who are participants in an ongoing longitudinal study. Discriminant Functio...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurotoxicology and teratology 1997-05, Vol.19 (3), p.171-183
Main Authors: Fried, Peter A., Watkinson, Barbara, Siegel, Linda S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Facets of reading and language were examined in 131 9- to 12-year-old children for whom prenatal exposure to marijuana and cigarettes had been ascertained. The subjects were from a low-risk, predominantly middle class sample who are participants in an ongoing longitudinal study. Discriminant Function Analysis revealed a dose-dependent association that remained after controlling for potential confounds, between prenatal cigarette exposure and lower language and lower reading scores, particularly on auditory-related aspects of this latter measure. The findings are interpreted as consistent with earlier observations of an association between cigarette smoking during pregnancy and altered auditory 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 language or reading outcomes at this age but postnatal secondhand smoke exposure by the child was associated with poorer language scores. Prenatal marijuana exposure was not significantly related to either the reading or language outcomes.
ISSN:0892-0362
1872-9738
DOI:10.1016/S0892-0362(97)00015-9