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Long-term Effects of Prenatal Cigarette Smoke Exposure on Behavior Dysregulation Among 14-Year-Old Offspring of Teenage Mothers

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Abstract

In this prospective study, we examined the long-term effects of prenatal cigarette smoke exposure (PCSE) on behavioral dysregulation (BD) in the offspring of adolescent mothers. The adolescent mothers (mean age = 16; range = 12–18; 70% African American) were interviewed about their tobacco use during pregnancy. Offspring were followed to age 14 years (n = 318). Indices of BD outcomes included aggression, rule breaking, externalizing, social problems, attention, distractibility and activity. Multiple measures and multiple informants were used for each construct. Regression analyses were conducted to test if PCSE predicted the BD outcomes, adjusting for demographic and maternal psychological characteristics, and for prenatal exposure to other substances. Independent effects of PCSE were found. Exposed offspring had more aggressive, social, and externalizing problems on both the maternal report and the adolescent self-report measures. They were more active, had more attention problems and greater difficulty with distraction and task orientation. Most PCSE effects were found from first trimester exposure and from exposure to as few as 10 cigarettes per day. These results are consistent with previous findings in this cohort when offspring were 6 and 10 years old, demonstrating that the effects of prenatal cigarette smoke exposure can be identified early and persist into adolescence.

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  1. Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, WPIC, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3811 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Marie D. Cornelius, Natacha M. De Genna & Cynthia Larkby

  2. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 4415 Fifth Avenue, Webster Hall, Suite 138, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Lidush Goldschmidt

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  1. Marie D. Cornelius
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Cornelius, M.D., Goldschmidt, L., De Genna, N.M. et al. Long-term Effects of Prenatal Cigarette Smoke Exposure on Behavior Dysregulation Among 14-Year-Old Offspring of Teenage Mothers. Matern Child Health J 16, 694–705 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-011-0766-0

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