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Cognitive functions mediate the effect of preterm birth on mathematics skills in young children

Julia Anna Adrian1,2, Roger Bakeman3, Natacha Akshoomoff2,4

  • 1Department of Cognitive Science, UC San Diego , San Diego, CA, USA.

Child Neuropsychology : a Journal on Normal and Abnormal Development in Childhood and Adolescence
|May 13, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Children born preterm often struggle with math. This study shows that cognitive skills like phonological processing significantly impact math abilities in these children, guiding future interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pediatric Medicine

Background:

  • Children born preterm face higher risks of cognitive deficits, particularly in mathematics achievement.
  • Specific cognitive functions mediating early math skills and the impact of preterm birth require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the cognitive functions that mediate early mathematics skills in preterm-born children.
  • To examine how preterm birth affects these mediating cognitive functions and subsequent math abilities.
  • To understand the developmental trajectories of number and arithmetic skills in preterm versus full-term children.

Main Methods:

  • Compared 51 preterm children (gestational age < 33 weeks) with 27 full-term children at ages 5, 6, and 7 years.
  • Utilized a comprehensive test battery, categorizing mathematics items into number and arithmetic skills (TEMA-3).
  • Employed multiple mediation models to assess the influence of spatial working memory, inhibitory control, visual-motor integration, and phonological processing.

Main Results:

  • Preterm children exhibited poorer phonological processing, visual-motor integration, and inhibitory control.
  • Both number and arithmetic skills differed between groups, with distinct developmental trajectories.
  • The performance gap for number skills narrowed over time in preterm children, while the gap for arithmetic skills widened.

Conclusions:

  • Phonological processing, visual-motor integration, and inhibitory control mediate the relationship between preterm birth and mathematics skills.
  • Phonological processing plays a particularly crucial role in math deficits observed in very preterm children.
  • Findings inform targeted evaluations and interventions for cognitive and math challenges in preterm populations.

Keywords:
Preterm birthcognitive functionsdevelopmentmathematicsmediationphonological processing

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