Social Problem Solving and Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are a major public health concern, with prevalence estimates of 1 per 100 live births or more depending on diagnostic methods and criteria used (1). Individuals affected by prenatal alcohol exposure face a range of neurocognitive and behavioral consequences. Social problem solving is an important domain of study due to its wide-ranging impact on adaptive functioning and may be an area of impairment for many individuals with heavy prenatal exposure to alcohol. Thus, a long-term objective of this proposal is to build a program of study on the social problem solving skills of individuals parentally exposed to alcohol across the life span and develop appropriate intervention strategies. A specific aim of this study is to build on previous findings with adolescents and determine if younger children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure demonstrate impairments in social problem solving. In addition, this proposal aims to assess the relationships between social problem solving and related constructs to improve understanding of children's problem solving abilities. These specific aims will be achieved through standard group comparison methodologies by comparing the performance of children parentally exposed to alcohol with that of matched non-exposed controls. Social problem solving skills will be assessed by presenting videotaped hypothetical vignettes to children and asking them a series of standardized questions. In addition, standardized questionnaires of self-esteem, depression, psychopathology, social skills, and executive functioning will be completed and multiple regression and correlation analyses will be used to examine their relationships with social problem solving.