1. Objectifs

Intentions :
The authors investigate « [...] the interrelations among prenatal smoking, birth weight and sociodemographic influences in the prediction of offspring cognitive abilities » (p. 594)

Questions/Hypothèses :
« In summary, we will test the hypotheses that (1) sociodemographic factors account for associations between prenatal smoking and birth weight on the one hand, and early cognitive abilities on the other, (2) birth weight mediates associations between prenatal smoking and early cognitive abilities, (3) prenatal smoking accounts for associations between maternal education and family income on the one hand, and birth weight on the other, (4) prenatal smoking and birth weight interact with sociodemographic factors, in the prediction of children’s early cognitive abilities, and (5) mediators of maternal education and family income, i.e. family functioning and parenting, are more
influential under low birth weight or ‘high’ smoking conditions. » (p. 595)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
« The children of this study participate in the Québec Longitudinal Study of Children’s Development, a prospective longitudinal study of children born between October 1997 and July 1998 in the province of Québec, Canada (Jetté and Des Groseilliers, 2000). [...] A total of 2223 families (75.6% of targeted population) participated in the study when the infant was aged 5 months between the months of March and November, 1998. » (p. 596)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

« The results of this study showed that (1) maternal education accounted for associations between prenatal smoking and indicators of early cognitive abilities, (2) birth weight significantly mediated the association between prenatal smoking and short-term memory, (3) prenatal smoking accounted for associations between maternal education and family income on the one hand, and birth weight on the other, (4) birth weight interacted with family income and maternal education in the prediction of visuospatial ability, and (5) family functioning and parenting generally mediated associations between maternal education and family income and early cognitive abilities in children regardless of birth weight, although some effects were stronger for those with below average birth weight. » (p. 602)