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Emotional reactivity at 12 months in very preterm infants born at <29 weeks of gestation
N Langerock1, L van Hanswijck de Jonge, M Bickle Graz
1Child Clinical Neuropsychology Unit, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Naomi.Langerock@unige.ch
Insights
Very preterm infants show distinct socio-emotional development, with heightened anger reactivity and altered attention patterns compared to full-term infants. Parental reports did not reflect these behavioral differences.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neonatal Medicine
- Behavioral Neuroscience
Background:
- Very preterm birth (<29 weeks gestation) poses risks for neurodevelopmental outcomes.
- Socio-emotional development in infancy is crucial for long-term behavioral adjustment.
- Understanding early emotional reactivity and attention in preterm infants is essential for timely intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the socio-emotional development of very preterm infants at 12 months corrected age.
- To compare emotional reactivity (joy, anger, fear) and sustained attention between very preterm and full-term infants.
- To explore potential early indicators of later behavioral difficulties, such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 41 very preterm infants and 22 full-term infants was assessed at 12 months corrected age.
- A standardized behavioral assessment measured emotional reactivity and sustained attention.
- A parental temperament questionnaire gathered subjective reports on infant emotionality.
Main Results:
- Very preterm infants displayed similar joy reactivity but significantly higher anger reactivity and lower fear reactivity compared to full-term infants.
- Preterm infants showed increased motor activity across all emotion-eliciting situations.
- A unique attention pattern was observed in preterm infants: high initial attention that rapidly declined.
- Parental questionnaires did not reveal significant group differences in temperament.
Conclusions:
- Very preterm infants exhibit specific socio-emotional and attentional differences detectable by 12 months corrected age.
- These findings may represent early markers for later behavioral challenges, including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
- Discrepancies between behavioral assessments and parental reports highlight the complexity of evaluating preterm infant development.
Abstract:
The present study evaluated the socio-emotional development of very preterm born infants at 12 months corrected age. Forty-one infants born very preterm (<29 weeks of gestation) were compared to 22 infants born full term on a standardized behavioral assessment and a parental temperament questionnaire, both measuring emotional reactivity to joy, anger and fear, as well as sustained attention. The behavioral assessment showed that very preterm infants exhibited as much joy as full term infants during a joy-eliciting episode. However, they expressed a significantly higher reactivity in anger-eliciting situations and a reduced reactivity toward fear-eliciting situations. For all three emotion-eliciting situations, the preterm infants reacted with a higher level of motor activity. The preterm infants also exhibited a distinct attention pattern with a significantly higher initial attention level which declined rapidly throughout the episode. The questionnaire did not show any group differences. The clinical relevance of these results in terms of preliminary hallmarks of later behavioral difficulties such attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder are discussed as well as the inconsistencies observed between the questionnaire and the behavioral assessment.
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