Clinical descriptions of patients with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) suggest major problems with adaptive behavior. Five operationally defined adverse outcomes and 18 associated risk/protective factors were examined using a Life History Interview with knowledgeable informants of 415 patients with FAS or FAE (median age 14 years, range 6-51; median IQ 86, range 29-126). Eighty percent of these patients were not raised by their biological mothers. For adolescents and adults, the life span prevalence was 61% for Disrupted School Experiences, 60% for Trouble with the Law, 50% for Confinement (in detention, jail, prison, or a psychiatric or alcohol/drug inpatient setting), 49% for Inappropriate Sexual Behaviors on repeated occasions, and 35% for Alcohol/Drug Problems. The odds of escaping these adverse life outcomes are increased 2- to 4-fold by receiving the diagnosis of FAS or FAE at an earlier age and by being reared in good stable environments.
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Fetal Alcohol & Drug Unit, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington
2Institute of Gerontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
3Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Fetal Alcohol & Drug Unit, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle
4Department of Statistics, University of Washington, Seattle
Received July 2003; accepted April 2004.
Address for reprints: Ann P. Streissguth, Dept. of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Box 359112, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195; e-mail: astreiss@u.washington.edu.
