Prenatal and Postnatal Exposure to Tobacco and Cannabis and Child Aggression at Early School Age: Role of Early Maternal Sensitivity

Prenatal tobacco exposure has been linked to higher child physical aggression; however, limited research examines predictors of both relational and physical aggression beginning in the prenatal period. We tested a conceptual model that included hypothesized direct and indirect pathways from prenatal substance exposure to early school age aggression via continued postnatal substance exposure throughout infancy and early childhood. We also examined the potential buffering effect of maternal sensitivity across early childhood and the additive effect of combined prenatal and postnatal exposure. The sample included 262 mother-child dyads (140 boys). Results supported the hypothesized paths from prenatal tobacco-cannabis co-exposure to early school age physical aggression and postnatal cannabis exposure to relational aggression. Maternal sensitivity across infancy and toddlerhood was protective in the development of both relational and physical aggression in the context of prenatal tobacco-cannabis co-exposure.