{"id":27516,"date":"2025-03-06T09:28:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T01:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/?post_type=media-release&p=27516"},"modified":"2025-03-06T09:28:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T01:28:48","slug":"maternal-cannabis-use-triples-risk-of-disruptive-behaviour-in-children","status":"publish","type":"media-release","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/media-release\/maternal-cannabis-use-triples-risk-of-disruptive-behaviour-in-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Maternal cannabis use triples risk of disruptive behaviour in children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Children exposed to their mother\u2019s cannabis use during pregnancy and after birth are three times more likely to develop behavioural problems, new Â鶹ֱ²¥ research has found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published in Psychiatry Research<\/em>, the study analysed data from more than 222,600 Australian mothers and children, revealing maternal cannabis use disorder (CUD) during pregnancy and the postnatal period significantly increased the risk of childhood disruptive behavioural disorders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lead researcher Abay Tadesse<\/a>, from Curtin\u2019s School of Population Health, said the findings highlighted the need for interventions targeting cannabis use among reproductive-age women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe found children of mothers with cannabis use disorder were at a significantly higher risk of developing behavioural issues such as oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD),\u201d Mr Tadesse said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur research showed maternal cannabis use during pregnancy increased the risk of disruptive behavioural disorders by 3.56 times, while postnatal use increased the risk by 2.95 times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith an estimated one in five Australian pregnant women using cannabis and disruptive behavioural disorders on the rise, our findings underscore the growing public health concern around cannabis use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Rosa Alati<\/a>, the Head of Curtin\u2019s School of Population Health, said the study highlighted the lasting impact of maternal cannabis use on children\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCannabinoid ingredients can cross the placenta and enter breast milk, potentially affecting brain development. This research provides critical evidence to help shape health policies aimed at minimising harm,\u201d Professor Alati said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile intervention strategies are essential, further genetic research is also needed to better understand the link between maternal cannabis use and childhood behavioural disorders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This study identifies maternal cannabis use as a significant risk factor for childhood disruptive behavioural disorders, acknowledging that these associations are also likely to be influenced by a range of genetic, environmental and social factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The full research paper, \u2018Maternal cannabis use disorder and offspring behavioral outcomes: findings from a linked data cohort study\u2019,<\/em> can be found online here: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.psychres.2025.116404<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Children exposed to their mother\u2019s cannabis use during pregnancy and after birth are three times […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4454,"featured_media":27569,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,35],"tags":[1158,312,1157,1156,211],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-27516","media-release","type-media-release","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-public-health","tag-behavioural-disorders","tag-cannabis","tag-cannabis-use-disorder","tag-pregnancy","tag-research"],"acf":{"experts":false,"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"","qualification":"","link":"","description":"","faculty":""}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":[24383,24387]},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/188-1000x500.jpg","author_meta":{"display_name":"294101E"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release\/27516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/media-release"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release\/27516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27516"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=27516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}