TY - JOUR

T1 - Emotional and Behavioral Trajectories of 2 to 9 Years Old Children Born to Opioid-Dependent Mothers

AU - Jaekel, Julia

AU - Kim, Hyun M.

AU - Lee, Samantha J.

AU - Schwartz, Ashlyn

AU - Henderson, Jacqueline M.T.

AU - Woodward, Lianne J.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).

PY - 2021/4

Y1 - 2021/4

N2 - Maternal opioid use in pregnancy has increased dramatically. Knowledge about children’s longer-term emotional and behavioral development after prenatal opioid exposure is scarce. A regional sample of 89 opioid-exposed and 104 non-exposed comparison children were studied prospectively at ages 2, 4.5, and 9 years using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) completed by primary caregivers. Across all childhood assessments, opioid-exposed children obtained significantly higher total difficulties scores than non-exposed comparison children. Growth curve modeling revealed that, relative to their same age peers, opioid-exposed children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties significantly worsened over time. Moreover, fixed effects estimates showed that total difficulties trajectories were poorer for children subject to higher prenatal risk (Est = 1.78, 95% CI = [0.46, 3.09]) who were born to mothers with high levels of social adversity (1.11 [0.51, 1.71]), and were then raised in families characterized by high levels of psychosocial risk (1.94 [0.90, 2.98]) and unstable caregiving (1.91 [0.33, 3.48]). A complex set of pre- and postnatal processes contribute to opioid-exposed children’s emotional and behavioral development. Efforts to mitigate the long-term consequences of opioid use in pregnancy need to consider both children’s and their caregivers’ biopsychosocial risks.

AB - Maternal opioid use in pregnancy has increased dramatically. Knowledge about children’s longer-term emotional and behavioral development after prenatal opioid exposure is scarce. A regional sample of 89 opioid-exposed and 104 non-exposed comparison children were studied prospectively at ages 2, 4.5, and 9 years using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) completed by primary caregivers. Across all childhood assessments, opioid-exposed children obtained significantly higher total difficulties scores than non-exposed comparison children. Growth curve modeling revealed that, relative to their same age peers, opioid-exposed children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties significantly worsened over time. Moreover, fixed effects estimates showed that total difficulties trajectories were poorer for children subject to higher prenatal risk (Est = 1.78, 95% CI = [0.46, 3.09]) who were born to mothers with high levels of social adversity (1.11 [0.51, 1.71]), and were then raised in families characterized by high levels of psychosocial risk (1.94 [0.90, 2.98]) and unstable caregiving (1.91 [0.33, 3.48]). A complex set of pre- and postnatal processes contribute to opioid-exposed children’s emotional and behavioral development. Efforts to mitigate the long-term consequences of opioid use in pregnancy need to consider both children’s and their caregivers’ biopsychosocial risks.

KW - Biopsychosocial risk

KW - Developmental trajectories

KW - Neonatal abstinence/opioid withdrawal syndrome (NAS/NOWS)

KW - Opioids

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099383088&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s10802-020-00766-w

DO - 10.1007/s10802-020-00766-w

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33433780

AN - SCOPUS:85099383088

VL - 49

SP - 443

EP - 457

JO - Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology

JF - Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology

SN - 2730-7166

IS - 4

ER -