Previous studies examining the relation between prenatal exposures and offspring substance use disorders have used differing methodologies and have yielded contrasting results. Some studies reporting an association between offspring substance use and very heavy levels of prenatal alcohol and/or drug exposure have not been able to assess a family history of alcohol dependence because the severity of the mothers’ substance abuse has led to their offspring being adopted away or reared by others. Studies that have assessed family history of SUD typically involve a more restricted range of drinking behavior with no more than moderate levels of prenatal exposure. Nevertheless, they indicate a relationship between prenatal alcohol exposure and offspring alcohol-use problems in adolescence and young adulthood (Baer et al., 1998, Baer et al., 2003, Yates et al., 1998), and prenatal cigarette exposure with offspring substance use disorders (Brennan et al., 2002) that remain significant after accounting for parental substance use disorders. Reviews of such studies have interpreted the relationship between prenatal exposures and offspring outcomes as causal because these associations are robust to the use of statistical controls, including a family history of substance use problems (Ernst et al., 2001, Glantz and Chambers, 2006).
