Cocaine
use is focus of RIA study
By KATHLEEN
WEAVER
Reporter Contributor
In a new
study under way at UB's Research Institute on Addictions, researchers
are examining the cumulative effect of a number of risk factors associated
with mothers' cocaine use on their infants' mental development.
Maternal
substance use, an environment of family and community violence, negative
mother-infant interactions and maternal psychological problems such
as depression are being considered in the study, as well as the impact
of these risk factors on infants' physiology and behavior.
Given the
reality that most cocaine-using women also use substances such as alcohol,
marijuana and cigarettes, investigators are looking at the role of these
other substances, in addition to cocaine use.
The five-year
research project is funded by a $2 million grant from the National Institute
on Drug Abuse to Rina Das Eiden, senior research scientist at RIA and
research assistant professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine
and Biomedical Sciences. Eiden has been with the institute since 1992,
specializing in the impact of prenatal substance exposure and the post-natal
environment on children's development.
Her co-investigators
on the study are Pamela Schuetze of Buffalo State College; Claire Coles
of Emory University in Atlanta and Philip Zeskind of the Carolinas Medical
Center in Charlotte.
"The focus
of our study is cocaine's direct and indirect effects on infant/child
behavior," Eiden explained. "We're concerned with pre- and post-natal
drug use by moms, the interactions between the parent and child, and
the stability of the care-giving environment in the first two years
of life.
"We want
to know more about how children develop self-regulation," Eiden added.
"How do they learn to control impulses? Are they as able as other children
to comply with controls placed on them by the caregiver? Do they learn
to internalize the rules of conduct we would expect to see happening
at the toddler stage?"
Eiden said
the researchers will recruit mothers who use cocaine and, in addition,
may be using alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana. A control group will
be comprised of mothers who do not use cocaine, but who may be light
to moderate drinkers and/or smokers."
Two hundred
and fifty participants125 in each groupfor the study will be recruited
at area hospitals after delivery. Cocaine use will be assessed via information
derived from urine toxicologies taken at birth, analyses of hair samples
and self-report. Incentives for participating in the research project
will include gift certificates for groceries and toys.
"Infants
will be assessed at one month, seven months, 13 months and 24 months
of age over the five years of the study," explained Schuetze. "My part
of the study will look at the physiological effects of both the drug
use and the environment."
"We will
use spectral analysis of the infants' heart rates to tell us about how
heart rate changes in response to different situations. Spectral analysis
separates a signal (heart rate in this case) into different frequency
components, allowing us to look at the contributions of various influences
on heart rate, such as blood pressure and respiration. A variety of
events experienced by children can impact the various systems that influence
heart rate. Through spectrum analysis of the heart rate, we can learn
more about how children respond to and cope with everyday occurrences."
Zeskind,
a physiological expert who has worked extensively with the spectral
analysis of heart rate, will work closely with Schuetze.
Coles,
a developmental psychologist with 20 years of experience in researching
maternal substance use, developed the structured clinical interview
that will be used in the study to examine the quality of the care-giving
environment. She will oversee the behavioral part of the study.
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