Psychopathology and special education enrollment in children with prenatal cocaine exposure

Objective: This study evaluated how enrollment in special education services in 11-year-old children relates to prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE), psychopathology, and other risk factors. Methods: Participants were 498 children enrolled in The Maternal Lifestyle Study, a prospective, longitudinal, multisite study examining outcomes of children with PCE. Logistic regression was used to examine the effect of PCE and psychopathology on enrollment in an individualized education plan (IEP; a designation specific to children with special education needs), with environmental, maternal, and infant medical variables as covariates. Results: PCE, an interaction of PCE and oppositional defiant disorder, child attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, parent-reported internalizing behaviors, and teacher-reported externalizing behaviors, predicted enrollment in an IEP. Other statistically significant variables in the model were male gender, low birth weight, being small for gestational age, white race, caregiver change, low socioeconomic status, low child intelligence quotient, caregiver depression, and prenatal marijuana exposure. Conclusions: PCE increased the likelihood of receiving an IEP with adjustment for covariates. Psychopathology also predicted this special education outcome, in combination with and independent of prenatal cocaine exposure.