Delayed visuomotor development in children born to adolescent mothers

The objective of the present study was to determine visuomotor development of children born to adolescent mothers and to compare it with that observed in those born to adult mothers. The sample included 59 urban Mestizo children, 7-8 years of age, who were born to adolescent mothers, and 73 urban Mestizo children of the same age, who were born to adult mothers (>20 years). Visuomotor development was assessed using the Bender test. Children born to adolescent mothers had a higher number of errors in the Bender Gestalt scores compared to those obtained by children born to adult mothers. Items of perseverance and integration in the Bender-Gestalt test were the most affected in children born to adolescent mothers. Of the children born to adolescent mothers, 13.8% repeated a school grade compared to 4.3% of children born to adult mothers (P < 0.01). Differences in sociocultural circumstances between the adolescent and adult mothers may have influenced the results. Nevertheless, children born to adolescent mothers have delayed visuomotor maturation and a low performance at school. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 9:717-723, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.