This research examines the relationship between smoking during pregnancy (SDP) and risk for reading related problems in siblings discordant for exposure to SDP. Data (N = 173 families) were drawn from the Missouri Mothers and Their Children study, a sample, identified using birth records (years 1998–2005), in which mothers changed her smoking behavior between two pregnancies (Child 1 [older sibling]: M = 12.99; Child 2 [younger sibling]: M = 10.19). A sibling comparison approach was used, providing a robust test for the association between SDP and reading related outcomes in school-aged children. Results suggested within-family (i.e., potentially causal) associations between SDP and reading and language/comprehension factor scores, as well as between SDP and specific reading-related skills, including reading accuracy and receptive language, with increased exposure to SDP associated with decreased performance. SDP was not associated with spelling, reading rate, or receptive vocabulary. Initial within-family associations between SDP and word-letter identification, phonetic/decoding skills, and reading comprehension were fully attenuated following partial control for genetic and environmental confounding of the associations. These findings indicate that exposure to SDP is associated with poorer performance on some, but not all skills assessed.

这项研究探讨了怀孕期间吸烟 (SDP) 与接触 SDP 不一致的兄弟姐妹中阅读相关问题的风险之间的关系。数据（ N = 173 个家庭）取自密苏里州母亲及其子女研究，该样本是使用出生记录（1998-2005 年）确定的，其中母亲在两次怀孕期间改变了吸烟行为（孩子 1 [哥哥姐姐]： M = 12.99；孩子 2 [弟弟妹妹]： M = 10.19）。采用兄弟姐妹比较方法，为学龄儿童 SDP 与阅读相关结果之间的关联提供了强有力的测试。结果表明，SDP 与阅读和语言/理解因素得分之间以及 SDP 与特定阅读相关技能（包括阅读准确性和接受性语言）之间存在家庭内（即潜在因果）关联，接触 SDP 的增加与阅读能力下降相关。表现。 SDP 与拼写、阅读率或接受性词汇无关。在对关联的遗传和环境混杂进行部分控制后，SDP与字母识别、语音/解码技能和阅读理解之间最初的家庭内部关联被完全削弱。这些研究结果表明，接触 SDP 会导致某些技能（但并非所有技能）的评估表现较差。