Maternal Cocaine Use: Estimated Effects on Mother-Child Play Interactions in the Preschool Period

Abstract

The study objective was to evaluate the quality of parent-child interactions in preschool-aged children exposed prenatally to cocaine. African-American mothers and their full-term newborns (n = 343) were enrolled prospectively at birth and classified as either prenatally cocaine-exposed (n = 157) or non-cocaine-exposed (n = 186) on the basis of maternal self-report and bioassays. Follow-up evaluations at 3 years of age (mean age, 40 mo) included a videotaped dyadic play session and maternal interviews to assess ongoing drug use and maternal psychological distress. Play interactions were coded using a modified version of Egeland et al's Teaching Task coding scheme. Regression analyses indicated cocaine-associated deficits in mother-child interaction, even with statistical adjustment for multiple suspected influences on interaction dynamics. Mother-child interactions were most impaired in cocaine-exposed dyads when the mother continued to report cocaine use at the 3-year follow-up. Multivariate profile analysis of the Egeland interaction subscales indicated greater maternal intrusiveness and hostility, poorer quality of instruction, lower maternal confidence, and diminished child persistence in the cocaine-exposed dyads.

Epidemiological estimates of risk in the process of becoming dependent upon cocaine: cocaine hydrochloride powder versus crack cocaine

“…Interested readers will find prior applications of this useful multivariate regression approach, first developed more than 10 years ago (e.g. see Andrade et al 1994;Johnson et al 2002).…”

The relational basis of adolescent adjustment: trajectories of mother–child interactive behaviors from infancy to adolescence shape adolescents' adaptation

“…Summarizing the findings from a cohort observed up to adulthood, Sroufe (2005) noted that attachment security, formed on the basis of repeatedly experienced sensitive mothering, shapes the individual's self-reliance, emotion regulation, and social competence throughout life. Maternal intrusiveness, the mother's controlling style that over-stimulates the child and imposes the maternal agenda, has been associated with high risk in adolescence, including feeding disorders (Laporte, Marcoux, & Guttman, 2001), low academic achievement (Feldman, Guttfreund, & Yerushalmi, 1998), oppositionaldefiant symptoms (Kashdan et al, 2004), and a greater risk for substance abuse (Johnson, Morrow, Accornero, Xue, Anthony, & Bandstra, 2002). Maternal intrusiveness disrupts the child's ability to engage in social interactions with strangers (Hobson, Patrick, Crandell, Garcia Perez, & Lee, 2004), plays a role in the development of maladaptive behavior (Wood, 2006), and predicts lower cognitive competence (Feldman & Eidelman, 2006).…”

Brain Reward Pathway Dysfunction in Maternal Depression and Addiction: A Present and Future Transgenerational Risk

“…Mothers affected by a cocaine use disorder may experience challenges to their roles as care givers. This is supported by data showing reduced mother-child play interactions, having a low self-esteem and lack of maternal identity, not attending to the emotional needs of the child and difficulties in coping with stress [125, 134, 135]. There is also evidence from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health that prior history of repeated drug use before pregnancy may be related to resuming high levels of intake during the postnatal care period (this statistically significant pattern is mostly observed for marihuana, cigarettes and alcohol misuse)(2009).…”