Children With Heavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Demonstrate Deficits on Multiple Measures of Concept Formation

• Published in: Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research clinical and experimental research, 2008-08, Vol.32 (8), p.1388-1397
• Main Authors: McGee, Christie L., Schonfeld, Amy M., Roebuck-Spencer, Tresa M., Riley, Edward P., Mattson, Sarah N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living - psychology; Adolescent; Alcoholism and acute alcohol poisoning; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Child; Concept Formation; Concept Formation - physiology; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Executive Functioning; Female; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders - physiopathology; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders - psychology; Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; Humans; Intelligence Tests; Male; Medical sciences; Neuropsychological Tests; Pregnancy; Prenatal Alcohol Exposure; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - physiopathology; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - psychology; Psychological Tests; Toxicology
• ISSN: 0145-6008; 1530-0277
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00707.x

Background:  Children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure have documented impairments in executive functioning (EF). One component of EF, concept formation, has not been well studied in this group. Methods:  Children (8 to 18 years) with histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure, with and without fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), were compared to typically developing controls on 2 measures of concept formation and conceptual set shifting: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the Card Sorting Test from the Delis–Kaplan Executive Functioning System. In addition to between‐group comparisons, performance relative to overall intellectual functioning was examined. Results:  Children with histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure showed impairment on both tests of concept formation compared to non‐exposed controls. These deficits included difficulty generating and verbalizing concepts, increased error rates and perseverative responses, and poorer response to feedback. However, in comparison to controls, alcohol‐exposed children performed better on measures of concept formation than predicted by their overall IQ scores. Exploratory analyses suggest that this may be due to differences in how the measures relate at different IQ levels and may not be specific to prenatal alcohol exposure. Conclusions:  Deficits in concept formation and conceptual set shifting were observed in alcohol‐exposed children with or without the diagnosis of FAS and in the absence of mental retardation. These deficits likely impact problem solving skills and adaptive functioning and have implications for therapeutic interventions in this population.