Sex Differences in Children of Substance-Abusing Parents

Abstract

In recent years, the American public has become increasingly concerned about the adverse effects parental substance abuse can have on the development of children. Issues surrounding “crack babies” and adult children of alcoholics have been widely discussed in the popular media, and have been addressed by lawmakers, educators, and health practitioners around the country. Although scientific evidence on this topic clearly lags behind public concern, a growing body of research data documents the ways parental substance abuse can reverberate throughout the lifespan of offspring. Until recently, most scientists have focused on the issue of whether parental substance abuse affects the development of children. They have asked questions about whether prenatal exposure to a particular drug is associated with a particular developmental problem: For example, is maternal crack use related to premature birth, does maternal alcoholism cause mental retardation, is maternal heroin abuse associated with attention deficits in school-age children, or are children raised by alcoholic parents likely to have drinking problems themselves? Although studies posing questions, such as these, have often found that prenatal exposure to drugs of abuse increases the likelihood that children will have developmental problems