1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«Using a longitudinal birth cohort design, the purpose of this study was to estimate the prospective association between long-term household smoke exposure, from infancy to the end of first grade, and subsequent teacher-reported child classroom engagement at the end of fourth grade (age 10).» (p. 586)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«We expected that parent-reported household smoke exposure from ages 1.5 to age 7 would subsequently predict decreased chances of child classroom engagement, measured as effective collaborative skills, task-orientation, and autonomous and effortful learning behavior in the classroom.» (p. 586)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«In this institutional review board–approved study, secondary analyses were conducted using data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD). The sample was drawn from the Quebec live birth registry. Participants were representative of infants born between 1997 and 1998 in the province of Quebec, Canada.» (p. 586)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

Results show that «[f]or a child, living with a smoker between ages 1.5 and 7 years predicted less classroom engagement, according to fourth-grade teacher observations. More specifically, children residing transiently and continuously with cigarette smokers were more likely to show less task-oriented, persistent, and autonomous learning behavior. Although the risk estimate is modest, its importance is properly interpreted from both population and developmental perspectives.» (p. 589) «That teachers reported significantly less classroom engagement among children exposed to household smoke earlier in childhood is remarkable. Thus, although prenatal smoking does have a nontrivial influence on later child behavior, the results of this study suggest that childhood environment is as important for the prevention of impaired neurobehavioral development and therefore supports the promotion of an unpolluted domestic environment for children.» (p. 590)