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Temperament and behavior of preterm infants: a six-year follow-up
F Oberklaid1, J Sewell, A Sanson
1Department of Ambulatory Paediatrics, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
Insights
Prematurity does not appear to be a risk factor for behavioral or social issues. This study found no significant differences in temperament or behavior between preterm and full-term children from infancy to early school age.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Prematurity is often considered a risk factor for developmental and behavioral problems.
- Longitudinal studies are crucial for understanding the long-term effects of prematurity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if prematurity is a risk factor for behavioral and social interaction problems.
- To compare cognitive and physical development in preterm versus full-term children.
Main Methods:
- Compared temperament and behavior of preterm infants (n=126) and full-term controls from infancy to early school age.
- Utilized parental ratings via validated questionnaires (e.g., Rutter's CBQ) at multiple developmental stages.
- Ensured no significant differences in socioeconomic status, gestational age, sex, or birth order between studied groups.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in temperament or behavior were found between preterm and full-term groups in infancy.
- Toddlers born preterm were more likely to have an easy temperament and less likely to have a difficult temperament.
- No differences observed in other temperament or behavior ratings across developmental periods.
Conclusions:
- The premise that prematurity is a significant risk factor for behavioral and social problems may not be universally supported.
- Preterm children do not exhibit increased behavioral or social difficulties compared to their full-term peers in this cohort.
- Further research can explore nuanced factors influencing developmental trajectories in preterm populations.
Abstract:
To test the commonly held premise that prematurity is a risk factor for problems of behavior and social interaction, as well as cognitive and physical development, temperament and behavior of children born preterm and full-term control subjects were compared at five separate time periods from infancy through early school age. All the preterm infants (n = 126) of a representative group of infants enrolled in a longitudinal study (n = 2443) were surveyed at 4 to 8 months corrected age. Subsamples of the group were studied further in successive years as young toddlers (n = 65), older toddlers (n = 60), preschoolers (n = 84), and at early school age (n = 81). At each period there were no differences between those studied and those not studied on socioeconomic status, gestational age, sex, or birth order. Parental ratings of temperament and behavior were used at appropriate ages: the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire, the Toddler Temperament Scale, the Childhood Temperament Questionnaire, Behaviour Checklist, Preschool Behaviour Questionnaire, and Rutter's Childhood Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ), as well as mother's overall rating of temperament. In infancy there were no significant differences on temperament dimensions, clinical temperament categories, or parental ratings of individual or composite behaviors between the preterm and full-term groups. For toddlers, temperament scores were similar for the two groups but preterm subjects were significantly more likely (P less than .01) to have an easy temperament and less likely to have a difficult temperament. There were no differences on any of the other temperament or behavior ratings.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)