Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Development of a Neonatal Piglet Acute Lung Injury Model Recreating the Early Environment of Preterm Infant Lungs
08:58

Development of a Neonatal Piglet Acute Lung Injury Model Recreating the Early Environment of Preterm Infant Lungs

Published on: October 31, 2025

670

The Effect of a Social-Emotional Intervention on the Development of Preterm Infants in Institutions

Daria I Chernego1, Robert B McCall2, Shannon B Wanless2

  • 1St. Petersburg State University, RF.

Infants and Young Children
|February 6, 2018
PubMed

Insights

A social-emotional intervention improved behavioral development in preterm infants in a Baby Home (BH). This intervention, focusing on caregiver training and a family-like environment, benefited both preterm and full-term children.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatrics
  • Social Work

Background:

  • Preterm infants in institutional care face developmental challenges.
  • Social-emotional interventions are crucial for vulnerable populations.
  • A Baby Home (BH) setting presents unique environmental factors impacting child development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of a social-emotional intervention on preterm children's behavioral development.
  • To compare the intervention's effects in a Baby Home (BH) setting versus a control group.
  • To assess developmental similarities and differences between preterm and full-term children within the BH environment.

Main Methods:

  • A social-emotional intervention involving caregiver training and environmental modifications was implemented.
  • Preterm (N=56) and full-term (N=93) children were assessed using the Battelle Development Inventory at multiple ages (3-24 months).
  • Comparative analysis between children in the intervention BH and a no-intervention BH.

Main Results:

  • The intervention positively influenced the general behavioral development of preterm children in the BH.
  • Intervention effects were similar for preterm and full-term children.
  • Preterm children consistently scored lower than full-term children during their first two years in the BH.

Conclusions:

  • Warm, sensitive, and responsive caregiver interactions are vital for healthy child development.
  • Social-emotional interventions can significantly benefit institutionalized preterm children.
  • Consistent, emotionally available caregiving is crucial for both preterm and full-term infants.

Keywords:
infantsinstitutional careinstitutionalizationinterventionorphanagepreterm childrensocial-emotional

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Capturing Infant-Caregiver Interactions Through Synchronized Multimodal Data Collection08:08

Author Spotlight: Capturing Infant-Caregiver Interactions Through Synchronized Multimodal Data Collection

Published on: May 31, 2024

1.6K
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

27.8K

Related Concept Videos

Role of Emotions in Social Life01:01

Role of Emotions in Social Life

Emotions play a fundamental role in shaping human experience and interactions. The absence of emotions would render life incomplete and fail to capture the essence of human nature. In social psychology, feelings and moods have been extensively studied due to their profound impact on social life and interpersonal relationships. These affective states influence decision-making, behavior, and social perceptions, making them integral to understanding human interactions.Emotions and Social...
413
Social Proof00:52

Social Proof

Social proof is a form of persuasion based on comparison and conformity. People compare their behavior and actions to what others are doing and will change to conform to do what their peers do.
32.4K
Social Scripts02:10

Social Scripts

People tend to know what behavior is expected of them in specific, familiar settings. A script is a person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific setting (Schank & Abelson, 1977). Essentially, scripts are a particular kind of schema, one containing default values for the features within an event. In the restaurant example, the script's features include the props (e.g., tables, menu, food, and money), the roles to be played (e.g., customer and waiter),...
10.3K
Social Traps01:41

Social Traps

Social traps are negative situations where people get caught in a direction or relationship that later proves to be unpleasant, with no easy way to back out of or avoid. The concept was orignally introduced by John Platt who applied psychology to Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons", where in New England herd owners could let their cattle graze in the common ground. This situation seems like a good idea, but an individual could have an advantage. If they owned...
27.0K
Social Facilitation01:04

Social Facilitation

Not all intergroup interactions lead to negative outcomes. Sometimes, being in a group situation can improve performance. Social facilitation occurs when an individual performs better when an audience is watching than when the individual performs the behavior alone. This typically occurs when people are performing a task for which they are skilled.
36.6K
Social Loafing01:37

Social Loafing

Another way in which a group presence can affect performance is social loafing—the exertion of less effort by a person working together with a group. Social loafing occurs when our individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group. Thus, group performance declines on easy tasks (Karau & Williams, 1993). Essentially individual group members loaf and let other group members pick up the slack. Because each individual’s efforts cannot be evaluated,...
39.7K