Smoking mums more likely to have naughty kids, study shows
They are more at risk of getting a criminal record for violence, theft or vandalism than those who were not exposed to tobacco toxins in the womb.
Although the numbers of mums who smoke has dropped those who do tend to be teenage mums and the poorest in society.
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Hide AdThe study compared mums who admit to smoking during pregnancy and the criminal records of their children.
It found mothers of nearly three fifths of anti-social teens - 59 per cent - had smoked while pregnant with them, and in just over a third of cases, their mothers had smoked at least one pack of cigarettes a day.
Smoking an extra pack of cigarettes a day was associated with 30 per cent greater odds of her child exhibiting three or more symptoms of conduct disorder as a teen and a more than tripling in the odds of three or more symptoms of antisocial personality disorder as an adult.
And it was linked to a more than doubling in the odds of her child having a record of non-violent offences as a juvenile and of committing a violent offence as an adult.
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Hide AdPrevious studies had suggested a link between maternal smoking during pregnancy and the antisocial behaviour of their offspring but it is still not clear whether this association is causal or influenced by genetic and environmental factors.
Dr Angela Paradis at the department of epidemiology at Brown University School of Public Health said: “Maternal smoking during pregnancy was found to be associated with a range of antisocial behaviours measured by self-report and official records.
“Associations were not specific to antisocial behaviour characterised by violence or aggression.
“Our findings, particularly those based on within-mother estimates, suggest that the elevated risk of antisocial behaviour is independent of other family attributes more
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Hide Adcommon among women who smoke during pregnancy, such as a history of mental illness and lower y socioeconomic status, and may be directly attributable to smoking exposure.
“The current work also highlights, based on our more precise total estimated effects, that any potential causal effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on offspring antisocial behaviour is most likely small to moderate in magnitude
“In summary, findings from this study support a causal association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring antisocial behaviour.
“Many important risk factors for antisocial behaviour are not modifiable for example sex or family history, but maternal smoking during pregnancy is potentially modifiable and remains prevalent among particular subgroups of women, including teenage mothers and mothers with less than a high school education.
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Hide Ad“So although maternal smoking during pregnancy may result in only slight-to-moderate increases in an offspring’s risk of antisocial behaviour , removing this exposure may have substantial impacts at the population level.”