The New Generation of Meth Babies

The findings of the study weren’t terribly large, but are worth examining further. The study showed results that were “very worrisome” said Linda LaGasse, who is the lead researcher at Brown University’s Center of the Study of Children at Risk. Studies included children whose ages ranged from three to five.  Both the age groups showed more anxiety, depression, and moodiness than “normal” children their age.

The five-year-olds who were studied from the time they were three that had been exposed to meth were more aggressive and had more attention problems, which were similar to (). Part of the study also showed that the “acting out” behavior problems that five-year-olds not addicted to meth had disappeared between the ages of three and five, which is a natural occurrence.

The five-year-olds that had been exposed to meth, however, did not change at all; in other words, their aggression and lack of ability to pay attention did not go away. Other internalized symptoms like sadness, anxiety and withdrawn behavior stayed the same in the five-year-old meth-exposed children, as well.

In a nutshell, the study shows that children exposed to meth at birth were at a much higher risk than other children of emotional and mental issues. More information about this dangerous drug and how it affects babies addicted to it will emerge as more studies are conducted and as the meth babies grow older. Just because the findings were not as catastrophic as they could have been, doesn’t mean that the behavioral problems won’t get worse.  LaGasse stated methamphetamine has stronger effects on the brain, so it may be more likely to cause lasting effects in children

Studies have shown that crack babies show a great improvement in behavior as time progresses. Furthermore, current studies show that there seems to be relatively no damage to children exposed to cocaine as an unborn child. Studies of three-to-five year olds that were exposed to heroin as a newborn showed that environment seemed to play a bigger factor in future behavior problems than does being born to a heroin-addicted mother.