Related Experiment Videos
School performance and IQ-test scores at age 13 as related to birth weight and gestational age
M Lagerström1, K Bremme, P Eneroth
1Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Sweden.
Insights
Low birth weight (LBW) children demonstrate lower school performance and IQ scores. However, the impact of gestational age (GA) varies, with term-born LBW children showing greater deficits.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Birth weight and gestational age are critical indicators of neonatal health.
- Socioeconomic factors can influence child development and academic outcomes.
- Longitudinal studies are essential for understanding developmental trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the independent and combined effects of birth weight and gestational age on school performance and IQ.
- To examine these effects irrespective of parental socioeconomic status (SES).
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 873 children from a Swedish community.
- Assessment of school performance and intelligence quotient (IQ) at age 13.
- Analysis considering low birth weight (LBW), normal birth weight (NBW), gestational age (GA), and parental SES.
Main Results:
- Low birth weight (LBW) children exhibited significantly lower school performance and IQ scores compared to normal birth weight (NBW) children, regardless of parental SES.
- Gestational age (GA) alone did not show a significant main effect on scholastic performance or IQ.
- A significant interaction effect was observed: LBW children born at term (38-40 weeks) had lower scores than controls, while LBW children born preterm (less than 37 weeks) had deficits in fewer academic areas.
Conclusions:
- Low birth weight is a significant predictor of reduced academic achievement and cognitive scores in children.
- The impact of low birth weight on academic outcomes is moderated by gestational age, with term-born LBW infants facing greater challenges.
Abstract:
The cohort in the present longitudinal research program consisted of 873 children in an entire school grade, in a Swedish community. The present results showed a main effect of birth weight; low birth weight (LBW) children had lower school performance and intelligence-test (IQ) scores at age 13 than did normal birth weight (NBW) children irrespective of parental SES. Second, there was no significant main effect of gestational age (GA) on scholastic performance and IQ-test scores. Third, there was a significant main effect of the combination of birth weight and GA on scholastic performance and IQ-test scores. The LBW children born at term (38-40 pregnancy weeks; pw) had significantly lower scores and school grades as compared to the control group while the LBW children born with short gestational age (34-37 pw) and with very short gestational age (less than 34 pw) had significantly lower scores and marks in fewer areas of academic attainment.