Project Summary
Alcohol and illicit drug use during the past month increased from 2019 to 2020 among pregnant women. Of
women abstaining from substance use during pregnancy, up to 51% relapse by 3 months postpartum. Importantly,
maternal substance use continues throughout childhood and adolescence, with 1 in 8 children under the age of
17 in the United States living with at least one parent with a substance use disorder. While previous work has
evidenced prenatal substance exposure effects on child neurocognitive outcomes, prior assessments have
overlooked the impact of being raised in households where substance use continues after delivery and
throughout childhood. Further, this prior work has focused on prenatal substance use exposure in isolation
without considering other psychological risk factors highly comorbid with substance use. Therefore, it is critical
to identify the impact of substance use during pregnancy and beyond on child neurocognitive functioning, and
determine whether substance use, or the myriad of psychological risk factors associated with substance use,
shape child neurocognitive development. Here, I will analyze data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive
Development (ABCD) Study to assess the impact of prenatal and household substance exposure independently
and in concert with maternal psychological risk on child executive functioning during early adolescence through
measures of neural and behavioral correlates of executive functioning. Together, this work will provide further
evidence of prenatal substance exposure effects on child neurocognitive development, highlighting the
importance of continued household exposure to substance use and broader maternal psychological risk to child
outcomes. Further, this approach will recognize the importance of psychological symptoms beyond substance
use and provide an empirical foundation for future lifespan assessments of maternal psychopathology and its
impact on other domains of children’s neurocognitive functioning. Finally, clinical implications include informing
intervention and treatment programs for families affected by substance use by necessitating parenting-specific
support across the lifespan and recognition of co-morbid psychological symptoms.
