The purpose of the proposed research project is to study the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on joint attention in infants. Joint attention, an important social milestone, is a social-communicative behavior that develops during infancy. Joint attention involves the coordination of eye contact and gesture for the purpose of sharing interest or enjoyment with a social partner. Joint attention skill development may be linked to several important theoretical processes including self-regulation and social cognition which, in turn, are thought to contribute to the development of language and cognitive abilities. Previous research has demonstrated the stability and predictive validity of infant joint attention skills in the prediction of cognitive and language outcome in typically developing and low birthweight samples. In a pilot study of joint attention in cocaine-exposed infants, the PI found that (1) infant joint attention skills were stable across 12 and 18 months and (2) infant joint attention skills at 12 and 18 months predicted cognitive outcome at 36 months. However, this study was limited by the use of a treatment sample and the lack of a comparison sample. The proposed study takes advantage of an already collected database and involves secondary analysis of data from the ongoing longitudinal NIH Maternal Lifestyle Study (MLS). MLS consists of a high-risk sample of 1,388 children that includes cocaine-exposed infants and matched comparison infants. In this project we will conduct secondary data analyses to a) code videotapes for joint attention in the MLS infants at 12 and 18 month and b) determine the stability and predictive validity of joint attention to cognitive and language outcome at 3, 4, and 4 percent years of age.
The Specific Aims of this project are to: 1. Test for cocaine effects on joint attention skill development at 12 and 18 months. 2. Examine the stability of infant joint attention skills across 12 and 18 months in both the cocaine-exposed and comparison infants. 3. Examine the predictive validity of 12 and 18 month joint attention skill development in the prediction of cognitive and language outcome at 3, 4, and 4 percent years in both the cocaine-exposed and comparison infants. ? ?
| Salley, Brenda; Sheinkopf, Stephen J; Neal-Beevers, A Rebecca et al. (2016) Infants' early visual attention and social engagement as developmental precursors to joint attention. Dev Psychol 52:1721-1731 |
