The primary goal of this study was to examine sleep problems in a sample of cocaineexposed 7-month-old infants and to determine if maternal psychopathology mediated any existing association between substance exposure and sleep behaviors. We also examined the differences in sleep behaviors of cocaine-exposed infants in parental custody and cocaine-exposed infants in nonparental custody. Participants were 65 cocaine-exposed and 53 nonexposed infants and their primary caregivers who were recruited at delivery and assessed at 7 months of infant age. As expected, women who used cocaine during pregnancy had more psychiatric symptoms than nonusers. Prenatal exposure to heavier amounts of cocaine was significantly related to more severe sleep difficulties, and maternal anxiety mediated this association. Approximately 28% of cocaine mothers lost custody of their infants by 7 months of age. Nonmaternal caregivers had significantly fewer symptoms of psychopathology than the cocaine-using women who retained custody of their children. Infants who were in nonparental care at 7 months of age also had less severe sleep problems than did infants who remained in parental care.
RESUMEN: La meta primaria de este estudio fue la de examinar problemas en el dormir en un grupo muestra de infantes de 7 meses de edad expuestos a la cocaína, y determinar si la sicopatología materna servía de mediador de alguna posible asociación entre el haber estado expuesto a sustancias y los patrones del sueño. También examinamos las diferencias en los patrones del sueño de infantes expuestos a la cocaína bajo la custodia de la madre y aquéllos expuestos a la cocaína bajo custodia de otras personas que no eran la madre. Los participantes fueron 65 infantes expuestos a la cocaína y 53 que no lo habían estado, incluyendo a quienes primariamente les prestaban el cuidado, todos los cuales fueron
The authors thank the parents and infants who participated in this study and the research staff who were responsible for conducting numerous assessments with these families. Special thanks to Drs.