Life-Course Analysis of the Criminogenic Effects of Maternal Cigarette Smoking During Pregnancy: A Research Note on the Mediating Impact of Neuropsychological Deficit

• NCJ Number: 216375
• Journal: Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 43 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2006 Pages: 412-426
• Author(s): Jean Marie McGloin; Travis C. Pratt; Alex R. Piquero
• Date Published: November 2006
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using longitudinal data on an inner-city African-American cohort, this study examined whether maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy (MCS) was associated with a neuropsychological deficit in the children that influenced their life-course-persistent (LCP) offending.

Abstract

The findings show that although MCS is a significant precursor to neuropsychological deficit and that neuropsychological deficit significantly predicts LCP offending, this was not the mediating mechanism that linked MCS and LCP offending. The authors concluded this because a significant relationship existed between MCS and LCP offending independent of neuropsychological dysfunction. There are two primary potential mediators that should be examined in future research. First, parenting may play an important role in the link between MCS and LCP offending. The hypothesis that could be tested was that mothers who smoked during pregnancy might tend to be self-centered, placing their needs ahead of their children's needs. Second, MCS is a known risk for temperamental and conduct problems in childhood; MCS consistently predicts attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, which has been found to predict delinquency based on low self-control. Study data were obtained from both the original Philadelphia portion of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project and a recent criminal history search conducted on the original cohort of 987 youths born to African-American mothers who participated in the study. Analyses were conducted on the offender subsample (n=220) of the original 987 subjects. The dependent variable was LCP offending, defined as an early onset of offending with at least two adult convictions during the follow-up period (after age 18). Independent variables were neuropsychological deficit measured by the total battery score of the California Achievement Test; gender; low birth weight; risk at birth; risk at age seven; and maternal cigarette smoking, which was self-reported by the mother during pregnancy. 2 tables, 13 notes, and 51 references