Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
19:15

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Published on: August 25, 2014

Quality of life of former premature infants during adolescence and beyond

Saroj Saigal1

  • 1Division of Neonatology, McMaster University, 1200 Main St West, Room 4F, Hamilton, On, Canada L8N 3Z5. saigal@mcmaster.ca

Early Human Development
|March 7, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Children born prematurely report high quality of life, comparable to peers born at term. This review examines quality of life measurement in adolescents and young adults who were born prematurely.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Health Outcomes Research

Background:

  • Quality of life (QoL) assessment is increasingly prioritized for children and adults.
  • A shift towards transparency includes personal burden of illness and life satisfaction alongside health outcomes.
  • Despite a lack of consensus on QoL definitions and measurement tools, research, especially on former premature infants, has surged.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the conceptual framework of self-reported quality of life.
  • To examine measurement tools for quality of life in former premature infants.
  • To focus on QoL in adolescence and young adulthood.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review focusing on quality of life in former premature infants.
  • Analysis of studies measuring self-reported quality of life.
  • Synthesis of findings related to adolescence and young adulthood.

Main Results:

  • Former premature infants often report quality of life nearly equivalent to those born at term.
  • Self-rated quality of life in former premature infants exceeds predictions by health professionals.
  • Disability status does not necessarily correlate with lower self-reported quality of life.

Conclusions:

  • Self-reported quality of life in former premature infants is a critical metric.
  • Adolescents and young adults born prematurely demonstrate resilience in their QoL perceptions.
  • Further research is needed to refine QoL measurement and understanding in this population.

More Related Videos

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit11:50

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Published on: January 7, 2020

Related Concept Videos

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification03:00

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification

Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
Longitudinal Research02:20

Longitudinal Research

Sometimes we want to see how people change over time, as in studies of human development and lifespan. When we test the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time, we are conducting longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time. For example, we may survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again...
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Childhood01:28

Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Childhood

Erik Erikson, a stage theorist, adapted Freud's theory to emphasize social factors in personality development throughout life, a concept known as psychosocial development. Unlike Freud, who focused on early childhood, Erikson believed that personality evolves across eight life stages, each marked by a specific challenge or "crisis." Successful resolution of each stage fosters competence, while failure may lead to feelings of inadequacy.
The first four of Erikson's eight psychosocial stages...
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence01:17

Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence

Erik Erikson's fifth stage of psychosocial development, "identity versus role confusion," is crucial during adolescence (ages 12 to 18). In this stage, adolescents face the developmental task of forging a distinct personal identity, a process influenced by social, psychological, and biological changes typical of this period. Adolescents naturally explore different roles, behaviors, and ideologies as they navigate complex questions of self-concept, asking, "Who am I?" and "What is my place in...
Cognitive Development During Adolescence01:18

Cognitive Development During Adolescence

During adolescence, individuals experience significant cognitive development that enhances their understanding of others' emotions and thoughts, known as cognitive empathy. This period is marked by an increased ability to adapt to others' perspectives and a more nuanced understanding of others' mental states, a skill that is foundational for social problem-solving and conflict avoidance. The development of cognitive empathy relies heavily on the theory of mind — the recognition that people have...
Classification of Illness01:17

Classification of Illness

The meaning of illness is individualized to each person who experiences an alteration in health. In contrast, disease is a medical term indicating a pathological change in the structure and function of the body or mind. It is a condition that has specific symptoms and boundaries.
An illness is a response to a disease in which the person's level of functioning is changed compared with a previous level. The general classification of illness includes acute and chronic.
Acute illness is severe and...