Executive Function Predicts Adaptive Behavior in Children with Histories of Heavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Ashley L. Ware, San Diego State University; Nicole Crocker, San Diego State University; Jessica W. O'Brien, San Diego State University; Benjamin N. Deweese, San Diego State University; Scott C. Roesch, San Diego State University; Claire Coles, Emory University; Julie A Kable, Emory University; Philip May, University of North Carolina; Wendy O. Kalberg, University of New Mexico; Elizabeth R. Sowell, University of Southern California; Kenneth Lyons Jones, University of California at San Diego; Edward P. Riley, San Diego State University; Sarah N. Mattson, San Diego State University
• Language: English
• Date: 2012-08-01
• Publisher: Wiley: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2012 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01718.x
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research
• ISSN: 0145-6008
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 8
• Start Page: 1431
• End Page: 1441
• Grant/Funding Information: All or part of this work was done in conjunction with the Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (CIFASD), which is funded by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA).; Research described in this paper was supported by NIAAA grant numbers U01 AA014834 (Mattson), U24 AA014811 (Riley), U24 AA014818 (Barnett), and U24 AA014815 (Jones).
• Keywords: RISK-FACTORS; DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER; ADHD; Science & Technology; Multisite Study; Executive Functioning; Substance Abuse; PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN; ADOLESCENTS; ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders; Adaptive Function; Neurobehavioral Profile; SCHOOL-AGE; Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; SPECTRUM DISORDERS; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; PHYSICAL FEATURES; ACADEMIC-ACHIEVEMENT
• Research Categories: Biology, Neuroscience; Psychology, Behavioral; Health Sciences, Nutrition

Abstract

Prenatal exposure to alcohol often results in disruption to discrete cognitive and behavioral domains, including executive function (EF) and adaptive functioning. In the current study, the relation between these 2 domains was examined in children with histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure, nonexposed children with a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and typically developing controls. Methods: As part of a multisite study, 3 groups of children (8 to 18 years, M = 12.10) were tested: children with histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure (ALC, n = 142), nonexposed children with ADHD (ADHD, n = 82), and typically developing controls (CON, n = 133) who did not have ADHD or a history of prenatal alcohol exposure. Children completed subtests of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS), and their primary caregivers completed the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-II. Data were analyzed using regression analyses. Results: Analyses showed that EF measures were predictive of adaptive abilities, and significant interactions between D-KEFS measures and group were present. For the ADHD group, the relation between adaptive abilities and EF was more general, with 3 of the 4 EF measures showing a significant relation with adaptive score. In contrast, for the ALC group, this relation was specific to the nonverbal EF measures. In the CON group, performance on EF tasks did not predict adaptive scores over the influence of age. Conclusions: These results support prior research in ADHD, suggesting that EF deficits are predictive of poorer adaptive behavior and extend this finding to include children with heavy prenatal exposure to alcohol. However, the relation between EF and adaptive ability differed by group, suggesting unique patterns of abilities in these children. These results provide enhanced understanding of adaptive deficits in these populations, as well as demonstrate the ecological validity of laboratory measures of EF.