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Temperamental Development among Preterm Born Children. An RCT Follow-Up Study
Inger Pauline Landsem1,2, Bjørn Helge Handegård2, Stein Erik Ulvund3
1Child & Adolescent Department, University Hospital of North Norway, 9019 Tromsø, Norway.
Insights
Participation in the modified Mother-Infant Transaction Program (MITP-m) positively impacted preterm children's temperament. Parents reported lower negative emotionality and easier soothability in children who received MITP-m intervention.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatric Health
Background:
- Preterm birth presents unique challenges for child development and parental adjustment.
- Early interventions are crucial for mitigating long-term effects of prematurity.
- Parental perception of child temperament influences parent-child interactions and child outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term effects of the modified Mother-Infant Transaction Program (MITP-m) on preterm children's temperament.
- To examine parental perceptions of child temperament from ages two to seven years.
- To compare temperament reports between children participating in MITP-m and those receiving usual care.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 146 preterm children.
- Intervention group received MITP-m; control group received usual follow-up care.
- Maternal and paternal reports of child temperament (negative emotionality, soothability, sociality, shyness, activity) collected at ages 2, 3, 5, and 7 years.
Main Results:
- Parents in the MITP-m group reported significantly lower levels of negative emotionality in their children compared to the control group.
- Maternal reports showed a stable difference in negative emotionality from ages two to seven.
- Paternal reports indicated an increasing difference in negative emotionality and perceived greater soothability in children within the MITP-m group.
Conclusions:
- MITP-m intervention is associated with improved child temperament in preterm children, specifically reduced negative emotionality and enhanced soothability.
- The program's benefits on temperament, particularly negative emotionality, are sustained over time.
- MITP-m appears to be an effective intervention for supporting positive developmental trajectories in preterm infants and their families.
Abstract:
A randomized controlled trial study recruited 146 preterm born children, either to participate in a modified version of the Mother-Infant Transaction Program (MITP-m) or to receive the usual follow-up services, before and after discharge from a neonatal intensive care unit. This follow-up study investigates whether MITP participation is associated with parental perceptions of child temperament from two to seven years. Children's temperament was reported by mothers and fathers separately at children's ages of 2, 3, 5, and 7 years. Parents in the MITP-m group reported lower levels of negative emotionality in their children compared to the control group. In maternal reports, a group effect (F(1, 121) = 9.7, p = 0.002) revealed a stable difference in children's negative emotionality from two to seven years, while a group-by-time interaction related to an increasing difference was detected in reports from fathers (F(1, 94) = 4.8, p = 0.03). Another group difference appeared in fathers' reports of children's soothability (F(1, 100) = 14.2, p < 0.0005). MITP-m fathers seemed to perceive their children as easier to soothe at all ages as no interaction with time appeared. Parental reports on children's sociality, shyness, and activity did not differ between the groups.
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