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Behavioral and social development of children born extremely premature: 5-year follow-up

Barbara Hoff1, Bo Mølholm Hansen, Hanne Munck

  • 1Department of Neonatology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. barbara_hoff@mail.dk

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
|July 30, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Extremely premature children show increased hyperactivity risk at age 5. While lower intellectual ability and sensitive parenting impact behavior, hyperactivity risk persists even with normal development.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatrics
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Extremely premature birth is linked to developmental challenges.
  • Understanding factors influencing behavioral and social development in this population is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between general intellectual ability and parental sensitivity with behavioral and social development in extremely prematurely born children at 5 years of age.
  • To identify specific risk factors for behavioral and social difficulties.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort study comparing extremely prematurely born children with matched term-born controls at 5 years of age.
  • Parental questionnaires assessed behavioral and social development.
  • Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) and parental sensitivity were evaluated.

Main Results:

  • Index children exhibited more hyperactivity and poorer social skills than controls.
  • Lower FSIQ correlated with outward-reacting, hyperactive behavior, and poorer social skills.
  • Sensitive parenting was associated with reduced hyperactivity and outward-reacting behavior.

Conclusions:

  • Extremely prematurely born children have a persistent increased risk for hyperactivity, independent of FSIQ and parental sensitivity.
  • Intellectual development plays a role, but hyperactivity risk remains elevated even in those with normal intellectual development.
  • Parental sensitivity is a protective factor against behavioral issues.

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