This application is in response to PAS-03-023 International Research Collaboration on Drug Addiction. We had received an administrative supplement that added Auckland, New Zealand to our multisite Infant Development, Environment And Lifestyle (IDEAL) longitudinal study of the effects of prenatal methamphetamine (MA) exposure on child outcome. We have already established a Community Research Network (CRN) that includes four Clinical Research Partners (CRPs), from diverse study populations in Iowa, Oklahoma, California, and Hawaii where MA use by pregnant women is prevalent and where data collection for this 3-year longitudinal study is already underway. The supplement provided funds to recruit and conduct newborn and 1-month assessments of the New Zealand cohort. The purpose of this study is to extend the longitudinal follow up of the New Zealand cohort to 3 years. Recruitment in New Zealand is underway and 240 subjects with MA exposure and matched comparisons are anticipated. The longitudinal protocol of the proposed study includes annual visits at 1, 2, and 3 years and a home visit at 2.5 years. Measures of child include domains of arousal regulation, cognition, social relationships, neuromotor, neuroendocrine function, behavior problems and medical status. Measures of psychosocial risk factors include caregiving context and caregiver characteristics. We will test hypotheses related to the effects of prenatal MA exposure on child outcome when covariates including other drug use are controlled;hypotheses related to the role of psychosocial risk factors mediating effects of prenatal MA exposure on child outcome. The Auckland cohort will be analyzed separately and together with the larger IDEAL sample. With Auckland, New Zealand added to the IDEAL study as a fifth CRP, we will: (1) Increase the sample size of the IDEAL study;(2) Increase the observable effects of prenatal MA exposure on infant outcome by studying a group with less variability in the purity of MA and with a higher frequency of use than in other IDEAL sites;(3) Increase our understanding of the role of cultural childrearing and out-of-home placement issues, including social policy on the outcome of MA exposed children, and (4) Make an international contribution to our understanding of the effect of prenatal MA exposure on child outcome. The proposed study will advance our scientific understanding of this emerging problem and enhance our ability to develop appropriate interventions for these children.
