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Aims: Although research on fetal alcohol exposure has had a significant effect on social norms and public policy, there has been little quantitative review of this literature. Methods: Meta-analysis was used to examine the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on infant mental development, assessed using the Mental Development Index (MDI) from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, a widely used, standardized measure. The current study examined the effects of three levels of average daily exposure during pregnancy: less than 1 drink per day, 1-1.99 drinks per day and 2 or more drinks per day. Analyses were conducted separately for effects derived from observations of 6-8-, 12-13- and 18-26-month-old children. Results: Fetal alcohol exposure at all three dosage levels was associated with significantly lower MDI scores among 12-13-month-olds. The effect was attenuated, but not eliminated, when effect sizes adjusted for relevant covariates were used. For younger and older children, the effect of fetal alcohol exposure did not attain statistical significance at any dosage level. Conclusions: This pattern of results may reflect differences in MDI item content at different ages and the differential sensitivity of these abilities to prenatal alcohol exposure. Because the body of relevant literature is neither large nor conclusive, and because of heterogeneity in measurement, analysis and samples, caution is urged in interpreting results. Future research would benefit from use of more specific measures of infant outcomes and consideration of the impact of relevant covariates, different dosage patterns and timing of drinking on infant mental development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study examined the effect of fathers' alcoholism and associated risk factors on toddler compliance with parental directives at 18 and 24 months of age. Methods: Participants were 215 families with 12-month-old children, recruited through birth records, who completed assessments of parental substance use, family functioning, and parent-child interactions at 12, 18, and 24 months of child age. Of these families, 96 were in the control group, 89 families were in the father-alcoholic-only group, and 30 families were in the group with two alcohol-problem parents. Child compliance with parents during cleanup situations after free play was measured at 18 and 24 months. The focus of this paper is on four measures of compliance: committed compliance, passive noncompliance, overt resistance, and defiance. Results: Sons of alcohol-problem parents exhibited higher rates of noncompliance compared with sons of nonalcoholic parents. Sons in the two-alcohol-problem parent group seemed to be following a trajectory toward increasing rates of noncompliance. Daughters in the two-alcohol-problem parent group followed an opposite pattern. Other risk factors associated with parental alcohol problems also predicted compliance, but in unexpected ways. Conclusions: Results indicate that early risk for behavioral undercontrol is present in the toddler period among sons of alcoholic fathers, but not among daughters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large literature suggests associations between self-regulation and motivation and adolescent problem behavior; however, this research has mostly pitted these constructs against one another or tested them in isolation. Following recent neural-systems based theories (e.g., Ernst & Fudge, 2009 ), the present study investigated the interactions between self-regulation and approach and avoidance motivation prospectively predicting delinquency and depressive symptoms in early adolescence. The community sample included 387 adolescents aged 11 to 13 years old (55% female; 17% minority). Laboratory tasks were used to assess self-regulation and approach and avoidance motivation, and adolescent self-reports were used to measure depressive symptoms and delinquency. Analyses suggested that low levels of approach motivation were associated with high levels of depressive symptoms, but only at high levels of self-regulation (p = .01). High levels of approach were associated with high levels of rule breaking, but only at low levels of self-regulation (p < .05). These findings support contemporary neural-based systems theories that posit integration of motivational and self-regulatory individual differences via moderational models to understand adolescent problem behavior.

The development of motor asymmetries was assessed in 20 infants who were prenatally exposed to cocaine and 23 comparison infants. Asymmetries in stepping, grasping, and head orientation were assessed at 1 month of age. As expected based on the findings of previous research with high-risk infants, infants who were prenatally exposed to cocaine performed a grasping task with their right hand for significantly shorter durations than comparison infants and were less likely to show a dominant hand preference than comparison infants. Comparison infants were also more likely to display a side bias for head orientation and stepping than infants who were prenatally exposed to cocaine. These findings suggest that prenatal exposure to cocaine may alter the typical developmental trajectory of functional asymmetries and may have important implications for long-term developmental outcomes.