AbstractOverwhelming evidence on the impact of maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy has prompted in-creased attention to the link between prenatal alcohol expo-sure (PAE) and a constellation of developmental disabilities,
which are characterized by physical, cognitive, and behavioral impairments. Importantly, individuals with PAE are particu-larly vulnerable to mental health problems. This review sum-marizes the current literature on the underlyingmechanisms of PAE vulnerability, including epigenetic, genetic, and environ-mental risk factors that predispose individuals with PAE to psychiatric illness. The studies cited are from animal and human research and include a developmental perspective. Research on the mental health problems suffered by individ-uals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) through-out development highlights the need for training of mental health professionals in the identification and the provision of specific treatments to address the unique features of this developmental disability. KeywordsMental health. Psychiatric illness. Fetal alcohol spectrumdisorders .Prenatal alcohol exposure.DSM5 diagnosis