Cognitive and executive functions, social cognition and sense of coherence in adults with fetal
alcohol syndrome
Sammanfattning
Background: Primary disabilities in children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) are the results of
alcohol's teratogen effect on the fetal brain. Reduced cognitive and executive functions and social
cognition are examples of such disabilities. Little is known about primary disabilities in adults with
FAS as well as their sense of coherence (SoC). There is thus a need for knowledge about FAS in
adulthood. Aims: To investigate cognitive and executive functions, social cognition and SoC in adults
with FAS. Methods: Twenty adults with FAS (mean age: 30 years) were compared with 20 individuals
matched on gender and age. Berg's Card-sorting Test-64, the Tower of Hanoi, Raven's Coloured
Progressive Matrices, Digit Span, Faux Pas and the Swedish version of Antonovsky's Sense of
Coherence Scale (SoC-29) were used. Results: The FAS group had a weak SoC and displayed deficits
in the neuropsychological tests sensitive to cognitive and executive functions and social cognition.
The FAS group's median SoC score was 112, lower than the comparison group's median of 133 (P <
0.001). The FAS group had median scores of 29.0 on Raven's Matrices. The median for Digit Span
was 5 forwards and 3 backwards, lower than in the comparison group (P < 0.001). Conclusions:
Reduced cognitive and executive functions and impaired social cognition are assumed to have a
major impact on life for adults with FAS. We suggest that the findings showing that adults with FAS
had a weak SoC, with particularly low scores on the manageability scale, reflect their experiences of
living with those primary disabilities. Clinical implications: This study may enhance healthcare for
individuals prenatally exposed to alcohol. In general, it contributes with knowledge about this group
of individuals who need to be more visible in healthcare, and particularly, it demonstrates some of
the neuropsychological disabilities they might have.