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If you're teaching developmental psychology, neuroscience, research methods, clinical, or intro to psych (well, really ANY psych class) in the fall, consider teaching about the racism and bad science behind the "crack baby epidemic" in the 1980s. 1/n
Small n studies with bad controls in the 80s appeared to show negative developmental outcomes for children born to mothers who used cocaine during pregnancy. This research was used as ammunition in the War on Drugs to enact racist policies and shame & mistreat Black mothers. 2/n
Follow up studies have since shown that many of the effects in these studies were small, not long lasting, or associated instead with prematurity and/or poverty. 3/n
Yes, it's a complicated story-- no one is saying that using drugs during pregnancy is good -- but let's lean into this complexity and help students grapple with the intersection of science, public policy, journalism, and racism. 4/n
I'll always regret my decision not to teach about this the first time I taught developmental psychology in graduate school. I planned a whole lecture, then chickened out. Don't be like me! 5/n
Here's some good reporting on this work, but others should feel free to weigh in with other articles and resources. 6/n https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27coca.html
