The influence of maternal smoking during pregnancy on the toddler's negativity

Objective: To extend previous studies by looking at the effect of the mother's smoking during pregnancy on her toddler's negative behavior. Design: A survey consisting of a structured questionnaire was administered to the mothers of 2-year-old toddlers. Setting: The subjects were drawn from a community sample, as part of a larger study of mothers and their children. Subjects: The subjects were 99 toddlers and their mothers taken from a community sample. Fifty-two of the mothers smoked throughout pregnancy, while 47 either stopped smoking during pregnancy or started smoking after childbirth. Measures: The measures consisted of scales with adequate psychometric properties, which, for the most part, were adapted from the literature. Measures included assessment of smoking behavior, the mother's personality/behavior, perinatal variables, demographic variables, and aspects of the mother-child relationship. Results: Using logistic regression analyses, maternal smoking during pregnancy was found to be related to negativity in the child, controlling for demographic factors, perinatal factors, maternal personality attributes, and the mother-child relationship. Conclusions: The findings suggest that maternal smoking during pregnancy has an adverse effect on the child's negativity, and that a decrease in maternal smoking during pregnancy might be expected to lead to a decrease in the child's negativity. The relationship of maternal smoking during pregnancy and early childhood negativity to other problem behaviors remains to be explored.