Emotional and Behavioral Trajectories of 2 to 9 Years Old Children Born to Opioid-Dependent Mothers
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology |
Volume | 49 |
Issue number | 4 |
Pages (from-to) | 443-457 |
Number of pages | 15 |
ISSN | 2730-7166 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2021 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
- Biopsychosocial risk, Developmental trajectories, Neonatal abstinence/opioid withdrawal syndrome (NAS/NOWS), Opioids
Research areas
ID: 393156789