Roebuck T M, Mattson S N, Riley E P
SDU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, Center for Behavioral Teratology, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, California 92120, USA.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1999 Jun;23(6):1070-6.
It is widely known that prenatal alcohol exposure is related to cognitive and behavioral deficits throughout childhood and adolescence. Much research has focused on understanding and quantifying the cognitive profile of children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) with relatively less empirical research on behavioral or psychosocial adjustment. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the behavioral and psychosocial profile of children exposed to heavy amounts of alcohol prenatally.
Two groups of subjects were evaluated: an alcohol-exposed group (ALC) and a nonexposed control group (NC) each made up of 32 subjects matched for age, gender, and ethnicity. The alcohol-exposed group consisted of children heavily exposed to alcohol in utero, including 19 children diagnosed with FAS. The Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) was completed by the caretaker of each child. Four validity/screening scales and 12 clinical scales were scored for all subjects.
Analyses revealed significant group differences on four validity/screening scales and 12 substantive scales. Within the ALC group, the profile of children without FAS was similar to that of children with FAS, with the exception that their profiles were consistent with less cognitive impairment.
These findings indicate that in addition to previously reported cognitive impairments, heavy prenatal alcohol exposure is related to significant impairments in psychosocial functioning. Even children without alcohol-related physical anomalies suffer from impaired psychosocial functioning. Because impairments of this nature can interfere with functioning across multiple domains, effective early intervention programs should be considered for families of alcohol-exposed children. Furthermore, given the similarities of alcohol-exposed children with and without FAS, it is imperative to obtain prenatal alcohol exposure histories on all children experiencing cognitive or psychosocial deficits.
众所周知，孕期酒精暴露与儿童期和青少年期的认知及行为缺陷有关。许多研究聚焦于理解和量化胎儿酒精综合征（FAS）患儿的认知特征，而对行为或心理社会适应方面的实证研究相对较少。本研究的主要目的是考察产前大量酒精暴露儿童的行为和心理社会特征。
对两组受试者进行评估：酒精暴露组（ALC）和非暴露对照组（NC），每组各32名受试者，年龄、性别和种族相匹配。酒精暴露组由子宫内大量暴露于酒精的儿童组成，其中19名儿童被诊断为FAS。每个孩子的照料者完成儿童个性量表（PIC）。对所有受试者的四个效度/筛查量表和12个临床量表进行评分。
分析显示在四个效度/筛查量表和12个实质性量表上存在显著的组间差异。在ALC组内，未患FAS的儿童的特征与患FAS的儿童相似，只是他们的特征显示认知损伤较轻。
这些发现表明，除了先前报道的认知损伤外，产前大量酒精暴露还与心理社会功能的显著损伤有关。即使没有与酒精相关身体异常的儿童也存在心理社会功能受损的情况。由于这种性质的损伤会干扰多个领域的功能，应为酒精暴露儿童家庭考虑有效的早期干预项目。此外，鉴于患FAS和未患FAS的酒精暴露儿童存在相似之处，对于所有存在认知或心理社会缺陷的儿童，获取其产前酒精暴露史势在必行。
