An examination of social-skills intervention called Children’s Friendship Training found that it led to a decrease in hostile attributions or perceptions of children with PAE.

"Children with PAE have a hard time making and keeping friends," explained the study’s corresponding author Vivien Keil, a staff research associate in the department of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA . "More specifically, they tend to have difficulty understanding social cues and common social norms."

"These social problems are due, in part, to the neurological and cognitive deficits known to be associated with prenatal exposure to alcohol," said Joseph M. Price, a research scientist in the Children and Adolescent Services Research Center at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.

Price also noted that such social problems could eventually lead to school problems, emotional and behavior problems, early school dropout, delinquency and drug and alcohol use. As a result, children with PAE are likely to benefit from intervention efforts designed to improve their social skills and their relationships with peers and adults.

In the course of this study, researchers found that when children were asked about other children’s intentions during the intervention period, they made fewer hostile attributions after the intervention. In other words, children’s hostile interpretations of peers’ social intentions can be modified by intervention efforts.
 

Lead author Colleen O’Leary said the analysis was drawn from a random sample of more than 2,000 mothers who completed a questionnaire three months after the baby’s delivery, and were then followed up when the child was 2, 5, and 8 years of age.

“Mothers who reported what we would classify as heavy drinking in the first trimester of pregnancy were nearly three times as likely to report that their child suffered with anxiety and/or depression or somatic complaints,” O’Leary said.

“Those who drank moderately during that first trimester were twice as likely to report those types of behavioral issues for their child. Exposure to moderate or heavy levels of alcohol in late pregnancy increased the risk of aggressive types of behaviors in the child. This research suggests that both the timing and the intensity of alcohol exposure in the womb affect the type of behavior problems expressed,” said O’Leary.

In this study, low levels of alcohol did not increase the risk of harm to the baby. However, the evidence clearly shows that the risk to the baby increases with increasing amounts consumed.

“It should also be noted that in this study moderate exposure is classified as drinking 3-4 standard drinks per occasion—that’s about two normal glasses of wine—and no more than a bottle of wine drunk over a week,” O’Leary said.

Heavy drinking included women who were drinking the equivalent of more than a bottle of wine per week. O’Leary said it is important that women who had consumed alcohol while pregnant are not panicked by the findings.

“Not every smoker gets lung cancer despite them being at higher risk—and in this case, not every child will be affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol. However, it is important that women have this information about increased risk so that they can make informed decisions to give their child the best start to life,” she said.

The National Health and Medical Research Council recommend that the safest choice for women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy is to abstain from alcohol.

O’Leary said health professionals can assist by talking to women of child-bearing age about their alcohol consumption and encouraging pregnant women and women planning a pregnancy to abstain from alcohol.

Science Daily reports that a team of researchers, led by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, studied 6,257 adult twins from Australia to learn whether twins who start drinking at an early age are more likely to develop a heritable form of alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking later in life. The researchers found that the younger an individual was at first drink, the greater the risk for alcohol dependence and the more prominent the role played by genetic factors.

"There seemed to be a greater genetic influence in those who took their first full drink at a younger age," says first author Arpana Agrawal, Ph.D. "That’s very consistent with what has been predicted in the literature and in the classification of types of alcohol dependence, but we present a unique test of the hypothesis."

Agrawal and her colleagues examined previously collected data from identical and fraternal, male and female twins, using statistical methods to measure the extent to which age at first drink changed the role of heritable influences on symptoms of alcohol dependence. Using the twin model, they were able to tease out genetic influences, shared environmental influences, and non-shared environmental factors.

Agrawal’s team found that when twins started drinking early, genetic factors contributed greatly to risk for alcohol dependence, at rates as high as 90 percent in the youngest drinkers. For those who started drinking at older ages, genes explained much less, and environmental factors that make twins different from each other, such as unique life events, gained prominence.

The twins in the study were 24 to 36 years old when they were interviewed, but some reported taking their first drink as young as age 5 or 6. The researchers found that those who were 15 or younger when they started drinking tended to have a greater genetic risk for alcohol dependence. Some who were 16 or older before they took their first drink later became alcohol dependent, but their dependence was related more to environmental factors.

"We don’t have actual gene expression data in this study, but we could hypothesize that exposure to early-onset drinking somehow modifies the developing brain," Agrawal says. "Particularly frequent or heavy early drinking may influence gene expression and contribute to more severe outcomes. Our research cannot prove that, but it’s something that neuro-imaging and gene expression studies certainly should investigate."

Another possibility is that early drinking exposes adolescents to certain environment influences, such as their peer groups, that somehow enhance genetic influences that contribute to risk for alcohol dependence.

"Something about starting to drink at an early age puts young people at risk for later problems associated with drinking," Agrawal says. "We continue to investigate the mechanisms, but encouraging youth to delay their drinking debut may help."

"Some early-onset drinkers do not develop alcohol problems and some late-onset drinkers do—we are working on why that is the case, but it is important to note that this is one risk factor among many and does not determine whether a person will, or will not, develop alcohol dependence," says Agrawal, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry.

"But age at first drink is a well-known risk factor, and there have been two main hypotheses about why: One has been that common genetic and environmental factors contribute both to the risk for alcohol dependence and to the likelihood a person will be younger when consuming their first drink. A second hypothesis suggests starting to drink at a younger age exerts an influence on alcohol dependence that is independent of these shared factors. Our findings suggest there may be some truth to both hypotheses."

Agrawal says studying twins offers advantages when attempting to learn about genetic and environmental influences on alcohol dependence. Since identical twins share 100 percent of their DNA, differences in drinking behavior between a pair of twins must come from environmental factors. Similarities between identical twins tend to be influenced by genes and family environment.

"Particularly identical twins offer us the opportunity to study the perfect natural experiment of genetically identical individuals whose drinking trajectories are modified by their shared and unique life experiences," she explains. "They are important assets in the study of complex behaviors, such as alcohol consumption."

The researchers will develop and test a home-based program designed to promote an alcohol-free childhood, in hopes to reduce the number of children who start using alcohol by sipping on others’ drinks.

"Many parents think that letting children sip drinks will prevent risky drinking during the teenage years," said Christine Jackson, of the Community Health Promotion Research program in the Public Health and Environment division at RTI.

“However, research indicates that this is not the case. Starting alcohol use during childhood, even at very low levels, is strongly associated with habitual alcohol use and high-risk alcohol use during adolescence."

The researchers will follow the participants for four years to see if the children in the program are significantly less likely to being drinking alcohol than those who didn’t participate.

The study is being conducted in collaboration with Susan Ennett, a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
 

For many children, curiosity about alcohol and drugs occurs much sooner. They may ask, “Why does Uncle Johnny drink so much?” If they see you falling asleep in front of the TV night after night with a half-dozen empty beer bottles, they will associate this action with normal behavior.

Talk With Your Children: The Earlier The Better

Experimentation with alcohol and drugs generally begins in grade school. Communication with your children should begin as young as age 5. No, you shouldn’t go into great detail about specific drugs and their effects on the body. Your young child won’t be able to comprehend all that information. But you can make a comment when you see someone smoking or drinking on TV or in a movie, or in a public place, or even at family gatherings. Something to the effect that drinking and smoking can hurt your body. Another appropriate message is that abusing medicines is just as dangerous as using street drugs.

As your child gets older, you can use more age-appropriate details. With a 12-year-old, for example, you can discuss common street names for marijuana and crack, how to identify them if other children at school have them and try to get them to take them, and what these drugs do to your body.

With teens, it’s important that they know all the risks about alcohol, street drugs and abuse of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications. Much of teen experimentation with drugs and alcohol is a result of peer pressure. This is a powerful influence that you have to overcome. Your constant presence and reassurance of parental love and responsibility is your best weapon against teen peer pressure.

Educate Yourself First, Then Your Child

Before you can give information to your child about the dangers and risks of alcohol and drugs, you first have to educate yourself. Find out what’s going on in the drug scene – before your children do. Highly publicized celebrity episodes of binge drinking, of alcohol or drug-related problems, relapses and recovery are great starting points for discussion. You can point out that these things can happen to anyone, to celebrities, rich people, and even the neighbor down the street. Talk about how there are consequences for actions. Explain to them that being famous – or not – is no excuse for this kind of bad behavior.

Attend discussions or lectures in your community on alcohol and drugs. Ask questions of the experts and become as knowledgeable as you can about the latest drug and alcohol trends in your community, especially new designer drugs which may be more potent and toxic.

Research alcohol and drug use on the Internet at such sites as www.drugabuse.org and www.abovetheinfluence.com and www.nida.nih.gov and follow the links for additional resources.

Tips to Help

• Listen to Your Children – If your young children feel that you really listen to them when they discuss how they feel or things that are bothering them, they will feel more comfortable talking with you about drugs and alcohol. The last thing you want is for your child to not tell you something because they feel that you don’t really hear them or don’t care.

• Promote Good Decision-Making – Children need to develop the skills to make good decisions on their own. This is a gradual and ongoing effort that you can encourage. An 8-year-old should be able to decide whether a couple of friends or more can be invited to a sleepover or a party. When the child is 12, encourage the decision to choose between playing a sport at school or joining the school band or other activity. As children become more confident making good decisions, you and your children will be more secure about them making responsible choices when it comes to the issues of drugs and alcohol.

• Discuss the Importance of Good Friends – Your children need to know what a good friend really is. It isn’t someone who tries to talk them into smoking a joint or doing a tab of ecstasy or drinking beer behind the bleachers. When so-called friends attempt to lure your children into doing things they know is wrong (as a result of family guidelines and education), instruct your children to steer clear of these non-friends.

• Build Self-Esteem – Whenever your children accomplish chores, give them praise. Praise helps to build self-esteem, especially in younger children. If there’s a mistake, talk about the action and not the person. If your child makes errors in math homework, don’t say, “That was a dumb mistake.” Instead, say something like, “Let’s look at this again. I think there might be another way to solve the problem.”

• Make Family Rules Clear – Your children need to know that there is no drug use allowed in the family and that children in this family are not allowed to drink alcohol. And no medicine is permitted unless Mom or Dad says you can take it. Let them know that there are consequences for breaking the rules. Depending on the infraction and the age of the child, this could be a suspension of privileges such as no driving, dating, and no phone use. Be sure that you listen to your child, however. If it was a mistake, a one-time occurrence, and your child expresses a sincere resolve never to do it again, you probably can let it go with a warning. But repeated breaking of the rules should have consequences that you as parents enforce.

• Do What You Say – Set a good example. Don’t drink after work. Don’t ever let your children see you intoxicated. Don’t pass around liquor to guests. Serve non-alcoholic beverages instead. Don’t pop pills for every minor ailment. Your children are watching and absorbing everything you do.

• Repeat Messages – One-time discussions won’t do the job. You need to repeat messages about the risks and dangers of drug and alcohol use to your children throughout their growing years. Recognize that your actions are also a repetition of your message – if they coincide. If not, the disconnection can undo any positive reinforcement. Also be sure not to preach. Be informative, be firm, and be a reassuring presence in their lives.

• Make Time In Your Life – You need to be around to take care of your responsibilities with your children. Many young children first gravitate toward experimentation with drugs and alcohol because a parent simply isn’t there. This may mean cutting back on some of your overtime at work, or it could mean including your children in activities you may have done by yourself. If you regularly go to the gym after work, take your child along on some occasions and/or do other things together – just you and your child.

• Love Your Children – One of the best and most enduring things you can do for your children is to demonstrate and let them know that you love them. You will always love them, no matter what. You are their parent and that is why you are always looking out for them.