ISAP Research Projects
Name of Project: Prenatal Methamphetamine Exposure
and Child Development
Principal Investigator: Richard A. Rawson, Ph.
D.
Project Director: Thomas DeHardt, Ph. D.
Funding Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA)
Funding Period: September 2001-August 2006
Scope of Project: Despite the fact that methamphetamine
(MA) use is very high in some regions, little is known about the
potential neurotoxic effects of prenatal MA exposure on the development
of children. We are conducting a longitudinal study of prenatal
MA exposure and child outcome in four states (Iowa, Oklahoma,
California, and Hawaii) in which MA use is prevalent. The sample
will
include 254 subjects in the MA-exposed group and 254 subjects
in the comparison group matched for other drug use, prematurity,
social class, gender, and race. The principal investigator is
Barry Lester, M.D., from Brown University. ISAP’s role is
to oversee collection of the data and the coordination of all
research activities. The study
is a three-year longitudinal study with one year to screen and
recruit the sample, developmental follow-up in the newborn period
and at one, two, and three years, and a home visit at 18 months.
Measures of the child include domains of arousal regulation, cognition,
social relationships, neuromotor, neuroendocrine function, and
medical status. Measures of psychosocial risk factors include
caregiving context and caregiver characteristics. Study hypotheses
are related to the effects of prenatal MA exposure on child outcome
when covariates, including other drug use, are controlled, and
hypotheses
related to the role of psychosocial risk factors mediating effects
of prenatal MA exposure on child outcome. This will be the first
large-scale study of the developmental consequences of prenatal
MA exposure and will advance our scientific understanding of this
emerging problem and enhance our ability to develop appropriate
interventions
for these children and their families.
For more information, contact Richard
A. Rawson.
Last updated - 12/09/2005