Effectiveness of early intervention for children prenatally exposed to cocaine: moderating effects of low birth weight on behavioral outcomes

Abstract

This study examined the moderating effect of low birth weight on the effectiveness of an early intervention program to improve cognitive, language and behavioral outcomes for children prenatally exposed to cocaine. Participants included 293 primarily minority, low SES children who were enrolled in the intervention during their first year and assessed at 36 months. Main effects for intervention and birth weight in the hypothesized direction were found for cognitive, receptive and expressive language ability, and for problem behaviors. There were also significant interaction effects between intervention and birth weight on problem behaviors and prosocial behavior, such that there was an intervention effect on problem behaviors and prosocial behavior for children with low birth weight, but not for children with normal birth weight. These results suggest that, among prenatally cocaine‐exposed children, those who have low birth weight may benefit more from intervention than those with normal birth weight.

Keywords:

• early intervention
• prenatal cocaine exposure
• low birth weight
• behavioral outcomes

Acknowledgements

The research and intervention project presented in this paper was supported by funds from Infants in Need, Inc; the Florida Diagnostic Learning Resources System, Florida Department of Education; the Miami Dade County Public Schools; the Dade Community Foundation; the Miami Dade Community Action Agency; and from members of the Miami philanthropic community. The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to the intervention directors, Drs Keith Scott, Lynne Katz, and Marygrace Yale Kaiser; intervention staff members; the research team; and the administrative staff members who have put their hearts and efforts into the development of the program and participate in ongoing day‐to‐day operations, and to all the individuals and organizations who support the continuing early intervention project and its multiple components including Sian Goff and the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Instructional Support and Community Services, Wendell and Linda Ray, The Department of Children and Families at both the District XI and state level, Ron Felton and Roni Bader‐Tables (Miami‐Dade County Public Schools Exceptional Student Education Services), the State Department of Transportation, Metro‐Dade Transit Disadvantages Services, the State Department of Health/Child Nutrition Program, the US Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Honorable Judges Cindy S. Lederman and Jeri B. Cohen, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Dependency Division, as well as the local and state Administrative Office of the Courts.