A new study reveals that children born by women who still smoke cigarettes during pregnancy are most likely to have behavioral problems when they grow up compared those who don’t.
Gordon Harold, senior author of the study and chair in Behavioral Genetics and Developmental Psychopathology at the University Of Leicester in the U.K, and his colleagues initiated the study to find out if genetics or parenting techniques have something to do with the behavioral problems of the children later on after they were born. There were previous studies linking pregnancy smoking to this case but did not factor in genetics and parenting techniques.
The researchers studied three different studies conducted in New Zealand, U.K, and U.S. The participants were asked if they were or were not smoking during pregnancy. They then compared the responses to the children’s behavioral issues between age four and 10 such as getting in fights and having difficulty paying attention.
The researchers used different methods to measure the data: the behavior rating scales by Rutter and Conners, the Child Behavior Checklist and the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire Short Form, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. They use a scoring system in which the higher scores are indications of poor behavior.
Children whose mothers didn’t smoke during pregnancy scored an average of 99 while those who born from mothers who smoke at least 10 sticks per day got an average of 104.
However, the researchers admitted that their research is not enough to fully establish the connection between pregnancy smoking and poor children behavior. They still believe that the results may somehow invalidate other possible accounts.
Harold gave out other explanations why smoking may affect the children behavior such as children being born smaller or have impaired mental development. He encourages women to quit smoking while pregnant to provide the best prenatal environment to the baby which he believes could help long-term after they are born.
The study was published in the July 24 issue of JAMA Psychiatry.
