Chapter 9 Results--Child Development at Age 18 Months

Children seen in the first part of the study in Berlin, Dundee and Odense were followed up at age 18 months and tested using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Five scores were recorded: the Mental Development Index (MDI), the Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) and scores for responsiveness, attention span and activity. The data were analysed for the centres combined and separately, allowing for confounding variables as in the previous chapter. In none of the comparisons was the mean score found to be significantly less in the children of drinkers than in those of abstainers. In many of the comparisons the children of abstainers had the lowest mean scores. In a number of comparisons in Berlin and Dundee, the MDI or PDI was found to be significantly higher in the children of women who had drunk at the upper end of the consumption distribution.