Evaluating a Research Study on Prenatal Cocaine Exposure: Potential Dangers or Not - Essay Example

2448). The study was conducted by doctors at an urban teaching hospital. The research subjects included three hundred and seventy-six pre-school children. Of these children, one hundred and ninety experienced fetal brain exposure to cocaine. One hundred and eight-six did not experience such exposure. The main testing standards were related to intellectual quotient measurements; more specifically, the study employed the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence-Revised measurements for determinations of outcomes.

This is a standard measurement authority and there is little debate about its use and efficacy. The findings were rather interesting. As an initial matter, this study was pursued because of inconsistent results regarding the longer-term consequences of prenatal cocaine exposure. In the media, it is common to hear about definitive correlations and relationships; for purposes of academic evaluation, however, the correlations have proven less definitive empirically. The findings in this case, dealing only with the effects noticed in a child's initial four-year lifespan, were seemingly mild in certain ways.

In many respects, the study found that fetal brain exposure to cocaine did not cause a lower full-scale intelligence quotient, did not cause lower scores or verbal performance generally, and did not cause any significant differences in performance. On the other hand, there were some findings which suggested that the potential dangers of prenatal drug exposure, in this case cocaine, were real. For instance, “prenatal cocaine exposure was related to small but significant deficits on several subscales” (Arendt & Farkas et al, 2004: p. 2452). .

For instance, "prenatal cocaine exposure was related to small but significant deficits on several subscales" (Arendt & Farkas et al, 2004: p. 2452). The specific findings were that fetal brain exposure to cocaine resulted in significant deficits in visual-spatial skills, general knowledge, and arithmetic skills. An additional finding was that while overall performance was generally similar, those children whom were exposed to cocaine demonstrated a lower likelihood of posting an intelligence quotient score above the normative means.

This study offers some interesting insights, the basis for making more accurate judgments, into the precise effects of prenatal drug exposure in the short-term; in addition, it also provides some concrete bases for speculation into the longer-term effects. From a general point of view, there do not appear to be any substantial effects. Verbal skills and overall performance were basically the same for both exposed and non-exposed children. These findings, however, may be misleading because there were demonstrable negative cognitive effects on a more particularized level.

The study clearly showed, for example, that specific types of cognitive development, such as arithmetic and spatial-visual skills, were impaired. The implication is that these children will experience even more substantial intellectual problems as they continue to develop cognitively. In short, fetal brain exposure to cocaine places infants at a cognitive disadvantage. Specific cognitive impairments will likely affect cognitive development more generally as these children mature. An evaluation of these findings, and judgmental interpretation of these findings, suggests that, in fact, there are potential dangers arising