Hostname: page-component-669899f699-7xsfk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-27T16:03:52.681Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Characteristics of attachment organization and play organization in prenatally drug-exposed toddlers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

Carol Rodning ,
Leila Beckwith  and
Judy Howard
Carol Rodning*
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Los Angeles
Leila Beckwith
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Los Angeles
Judy Howard
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Los Angeles
*
Address reprint requests to: Carol Rodning, PhD, UCLA Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, 1000 Veteran Avenue, Rehab 23-10, Los Angeles, CA 90024.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Prenatally drug-exposed toddlers were compared to preterm toddlers of similar low socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and single-parent households on intellectual functioning, quality of play, and security of attachment to the primary caregiver. The drug-exposed toddlers had significantly lower developmental scores, less representational play, and the majority had insecure, disorganized, avoidant attachments. In all areas investigated, the prenatally drug-exposed toddlers showed more subtle behavioral deficits within each domain. Although developmental quotients were within the average range, they were significantly lower than the preterm comparison group and did not adequately represent the more evident deficits seen through play in an unstructured situation. Unstructured assessments that required the child's initiation, goal setting, and follow-through were more revealing of developmental disorganization within and among domains than were adult structured assessments such as developmental tests. While modest differences were seen in structured tasks, the marked differences between the drug-exposed and preterm groups were most evident in the unstructured tasks. The lack of coherence across developmental domains was illustrated by the large difference between developmental quotient scores and the poor performance in the cognitive representional competencies demonstrated in play. Insecurity and disorganization in attachment were found to compromise further the development of the drug-exposed toddlers.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 1 , Issue 4 , October 1989 , pp. 277 - 289
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1973). The development of infant-mother attachment. In Caldwell, B. M. & Ricciuti, H. N. (Eds.), Review of child development research (Vol. 3, pp. 1–94). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Beckwith, L. (1988). Intervention with disadvantaged parents of sick preterm infants. Psychiatry, 51(3), 242–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Vol. 1: Attachment. New York: Basic.Google Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss. Vol. 2: Separation: Anxiety and anger. New York: Basic.Google Scholar
Bretherton, I., Bates, E., McNew, S., Shore, C., Williamson, C., & Smith, M., (1981). Comprehension and production of symbols in infancy: An experimental study. Developmental Psychology, 17(6), 728–736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruner, J. (1964). The course of cognitive growth. American Psychologist, 19(1), 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruner, J. (1972). Nature and uses of immaturity. American Psychologist, 27, 687–708.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carlson, V., Cicchetti, D., Barnett, D., & Braunwald, K. (1989). Disorganized/disoriented attachment relationships in maltreated infants. Developmental Psychology, 25, 525–531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chasnoff, I., Burns, W., Hatcher, R., & Burns, K. (1983). Phencyclidine: Effects on the fetus and neonate. Developmental Pharmacology, 6, 404–408.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chasnoff, I., Hatcher, R., & Burns, W. (1982). Poly-drug- and methadone-addicted newborns: A continuum of impairment? Pediatrics, 70(2), 210–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chasnoff, I., Schnoll, S., Burns, W., & Burns, K. (1984). Maternal nonnarcotic substance abuse during pregnancy: Effects on infant development. Neurobehavioral Toxicology and Teratology, 6, 277–280.Google ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D. (1987). Developmental psychopathology in infancy: Illustration from the study of maltreated youngsters. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 837–845.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1990). The organization and coherence of socioemotional, cognitive, and representational development: Illustrations through a developmental psychopathology perspective on Down syndrome and child maltreatment. In Thompson, R. (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 36, pp. 275–382). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Egeland, B., & Sroufe, L. A. (1981). Developmental sequelae of maltreatment in infancy. New Directions for Child Development, 11, 77–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garvey, C. (1977). Play. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Gawin, F. H., & Ellingwood, E. H. (1988). Cocaine and other stimulants: Actions, abuse and treatment. New England Journal of Medicine, 318, 1173–1182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Golden, N., Kuhnert, B., Sokol, R., Martier, S., & Williams, T. (1987). Neonatal manifestations of maternal phencyclidine exposure. Journal of Perinatal Medicine, 15, 185–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Golden, N., Sokol, R., & Rubin, L. (1980). Angel dust: Possible effects on the fetus. Pediatrics, 65(1), 18–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kagan, J. (1981). Second year: The emergence of self-awareness. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaltenbach, K., Graziani, L., & Finnegan, L. (1979). Methadone exposure in utero: Developmental status at one and two years of age. Pharmachology Biochemistry and Behavior, II (Suppl.), 15–17.Google Scholar
Kaltenbach, K., & Finnegan, L. (1984). Developmental outcome of children born to methadone maintained women: A review of longitudinal studies. Neurobehavioral Toxicology and Teratology, 6, 271–275.Google ScholarPubMed
Knobloch, H., Stevens, F., & Malone, A. (1980). Manual of developmental diagnosis. Hagerstown, MD: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Largo, R., & Howard, J. (1979). Developmental progression in play behavior of children between nine and thirty months: II: Spontaneous play and language development. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 21, 492–503.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lifschitz, M., Wilson, G., Smith, E., & Desmond, M. (1985). Factors affecting head growth and intellectual function in children of drug addicts. Pediatrics, 75(2), 269–274.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacGregor, S., Ketih, L., Chasnoff, I., Rosner, M., Chisum, G., Shaw, P., & Minogue, J. (1987). Cocaine use during pregnancy: Adverse perinatal outcome. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 157, 686–690.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Main, M. (1973). Exploration, play and cognitive functioning as related to child-mother attachment. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.Google Scholar
Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1986). Discovery of an insecure-disorganized/disoriented attachment pattern. In Brazelton, T. B. & Yogman, M. (Eds.), Affective development in infancy. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Motti, F., Cicchetti, D., Sroufe, L. A. (1983). From infant affect expression to symbolic play: The coherence of development in Down syndrome children. Child Development, 54(5), 1168–1175.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Connor, M. J., Sigman, M., & Brill, N. (1987). Disorganization of attachment in relation to maternal alcohol consumption. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 831–836.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olofsson, M., Buckley, W., Andersen, G. E., & Friis-Hansen, E. (1983). Investigation of 89 children born by drug-dependent mothers. Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica, 72, 407–410.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pasamanick, B., & Lilienfeld, A. M. (1955). Association of maternal and fetal factors with development of mental deficiency. I. Abnormalties in the prenatal and paranatal periods. Journal of the American Medical Association, 159, 155–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piaget, J. (1962). Play, dreams and imitation in childhood. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Pradhan, S. (1984). Phencyclidine (PCP): Some human studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review, 8, 493–501.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosen, T. & Johnson, H. (1982). Children of metha-done-maintained mothers: Follow-up to 18 months of age. The Journal of Pediatrics, 101(2), 192–196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ryan, L., Ehrlich, S., & Finnegan, L. (1987). Cocaine abuse in pregnancy: Effects on the fetus and newborn. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 9, 295–299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sardemann, H., Madsen, K., & Friis-Hansen, B. (1976). Follow-up of children of drug-addicted mothers. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 51, 131–134.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schorr, L. (1989). Early interventions to reduce in-tergenerational disadvantage: The new policy context. Teachers College Record, 90(3), 362–374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sroufe, L. A. (1979). The coherence of individual development: Early care, attachment, and subsequent developmental issues. American Psychologist, 34, 834–841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sroufe, L. A. & Waters, E. (1977). Attachment as an organizational construct. Child Development, 48, 1187–1199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strauss, A., Modanlou, H., & Bosu, S. (1981). Neonatal manifestations of maternal phencyclidine (PCP) abuse. Pedicatrics, 68(4), 550–552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Strauss, M., Lessen-Firestone, J., Chavez, C., & Stryker, J. (1979). Children of methadone-treated women at five years of age. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior II (Suppl.), 3–6.Google Scholar
Tracy, R., Farish, G., & Bretherton, I. (1980). Exploration as related to infant-mother attachment in one year olds. Paper presented at the International Conference on Infant Studies,New Haven, CT.Google Scholar
Ungerer, J., & Sigman, M. (1983). Developmental lags in preterm infants from one to three years of age. Child Development, 54, 1217–1228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Wilson, G., Desmond, M., & Verniaud, W. (1973). Early development of infants of heroin-addicted mothers. American Journal of Diseases of Children, 126, 457–462.Google ScholarPubMed
Wilson, G., Desmond, M., & Wait, R. (1981). Follow-up of methadone-treated and untreated narcotic-dependent women and their infants: Health, developmental, and social implications. The Journal of Pediatrics, 98(5), 716–722.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed