Interrelations between maladaptive behaviors in primary school children with prenatal ethanol exposure

Relevance. The consequences of prenatal exposure of a fetus to alcohol pose significant public health problems, as they are associated with congenital developmental anomalies, cognitive, behavioral and adaptive disorders. Early detection and prevention of maladaptive behavior are necessary practical tasks for specialists of educational institutions in order to prevent or compensate for manifestations of mental and behavioral disorders in children with perinatal exposure to ethanol.

Intention was to study the relationship between maladaptive behaviors in primary school children with prenatal ethanol exposure.

Methodology. 77 children of primary school age (57 boys, 20 girls) with delayed physical development, various dysmorphological disorders, structural and functional disorders of the central nervous system due to prenatal ethanol exposure were examined. The average age of the participants was (8.6 ± 1.0) years. They were students or inhabitants of municipal educational institutions (boarding schools) for orphans and children left without parental care; special (correctional) orphanages for children left without parental care; centers of social assistance; social rehabilitation centers for minors; secondary general education and correctional schools of one of the Russian Federation administrative centers. Maladaptive behavior was studied using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS), with parents or legal guardians as experts assessing the level of adaptive behavior of their children or pupils. The results were checked for the normality of distribution. The article presents the means and standard deviations (M ± SD); in case of non-normal distribution, medians (Me), the upper and lower quartiles [Q1; Q3] are presented.

Results and Discussion. According to the results of the study, the average score on the VABS scale was (14.2 ± 7.9) points, which exceeds the average for primary schoolchildren with normo-typical development. The following manifestations of maladaptive behavior were most common: attention deficit, hyperactivity, biting nails, fears and anxiety, negativity and disobedience, susceptibility to outbursts of anger, excessive codependence. Correlation analysis of the results of the VABS scale in children with prenatal ethanol exposure showed the following results: codependent behavior, especially deprivation of communication with significant people in primary school age, is closely associated with decreased cognition and mood. Disorders with psychological and social impact on the development of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are common in nature. Predictors of deviant behavior in children, probabilistic indicators of impaired social functioning and high risks of self-destructive behavior, signs of normotypic social behavior combined with deep personality problems and body image distortions are targets of psychotherapy and psychological correction.

Conclusion. In most cases the revealed maladaptive behaviors in children of primary school age with prenatal ethanol exposure require socio-psychological correction and support.

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