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Cognitive development in very vs. moderately to late preterm and full-term children: can effortful control account

Babett Voigt1, Joachim Pietz, Sabina Pauen

  • 1Children's Hospital, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Germany. voigt@psychologie.tu-dresden.de

Early Human Development
|October 8, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Preterm birth impacts cognitive development. Very preterm infants show lower effortful control, which partially explains their cognitive deficits, unlike moderately to late preterm infants.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Preterm birth is associated with adverse outcomes in cognitive development and self-regulation.
  • Understanding the specific impacts of different degrees of prematurity is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the effects of very preterm birth versus moderately to late preterm birth on cognitive development and effortful control at 24 months corrected age.
  • To investigate if effortful control mediates the relationship between preterm birth and cognitive development.

Main Methods:

  • Study included 58 very preterm, 88 moderately to late preterm, and 86 full-term infants.
  • Cognitive development assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (Mental Scale).
  • Effortful control measured via observational methods and parent reports.

Main Results:

  • Both very preterm and moderately to late preterm groups exhibited significantly lower cognitive performance than full-term infants.
  • Very preterm infants, but not moderately to late preterm infants, showed lower effortful control on observational measures.
  • Effortful control partially mediated the cognitive performance deficits in very preterm infants.

Conclusions:

  • Preterm birth is linked to poorer cognitive performance in toddlers.
  • Effortful control plays a mediating role in the cognitive development of very preterm infants.
  • Distinct mechanisms may underlie the cognitive outcomes for moderately to late preterm infants.
Abstract

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