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Is level of prematurity a risk/plasticity factor at three years of age?

Kristin Hadfield1, Fearghal O'Brien2, Aaron Gerow3

  • 1Resilience Research Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

Infant Behavior & Development
|March 22, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Preterm birth remains a risk factor for poorer child development, even in supportive environments. Parental emotional distress, particularly fathers

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatrics
  • Child Development

Background:

  • Children born preterm often experience poorer developmental outcomes compared to full-term infants.
  • The caregiving environment's quality may influence developmental trajectories, potentially acting as a protective factor.
  • Emerging theories suggest preterm birth might function as a plasticity factor, enhancing outcomes in high-quality environments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how caregiving environments impact social, cognitive, and motor skills in full-term, late preterm, and very preterm children.
  • To examine the moderating role of parental factors (emotional distress, attachment quality) on the relationship between prematurity and child outcomes.
  • To test the hypothesis that preterm birth acts as a plasticity factor.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from an Irish longitudinal study involving 11,134 children and their caregivers across two waves (9 months and 3 years).
  • Assessment of child social, cognitive, and motor skills.
  • Measurement of parental emotional distress and quality of attachment.

Main Results:

  • Both very preterm and late preterm birth are significant risk factors for poorer outcomes at 3 years of age.
  • Parental emotional distress and attachment quality are crucial for child development.
  • Only fathers' emotional distress significantly moderated the impact of prematurity on cognitive and social outcomes; other environmental interactions were not significant.

Conclusions:

  • Preterm birth, particularly very preterm, continues to be associated with developmental risks at age 3.
  • Parental factors, especially fathers' emotional distress, play a role in mitigating some effects of prematurity.
  • The study found no evidence supporting preterm birth as a plasticity factor.

Keywords:
CaregivingDiathesis stressDifferential susceptibilityParenting stressPrematurityPreterm

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