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Published on: April 19, 2017
Cognitive, language and motor development of infants exposed to risk and protective factors
Danielle Mendonça Araujo1, Denise Castilho Cabrera Santos2, Maria Cecília Marconi Pinheiro Lima1
1University of Campinas, School of Medical Sciences, R. Tessália Vieira de Camargo, 126, Campinas, SP, 13083-887, Brazil.
Insights
Infants with risk indicators for hearing loss (RIHL) and inadequate environments show developmental delays. Protective factors like adequate environments and absence of RIHL promote better cognitive, language, and motor skills in infants.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Risk factors, such as biological or environmental characteristics, increase the likelihood of developmental delays in children.
- Protective factors can mitigate risks and support skill acquisition.
- Infants with risk indicators for hearing loss (RIHL) often experience less stimulating environments, potentially hindering cognitive, language, and motor development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the cognitive, language, and motor development of infants exposed to varying combinations of risk and protective factors.
- To investigate the impact of risk indicators for hearing loss (RIHL) and environmental quality on infant development.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 259 infants aged 8-10 months.
- Developmental assessment using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development - Third Edition (BSITD-III).
- Group categorization based on RIHL presence/absence and home environment quality (adequate/inadequate), assessed via the Affordances in the Home Environment for the Motor Development - Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS).
- Statistical comparison using Chi-square or Kruskal-Wallis tests with Dunn's multiple comparison.
Main Results:
- Infants in the adequate environment group without RIHL (CG-AE) demonstrated superior cognitive and motor performance compared to other groups.
- The adequate environment group without RIHL (CG-AE) also showed statistically better language development than the inadequate environment group with RIHL (SG-IE).
- The inadequate environment group with RIHL (SG-IE) exhibited the highest frequency of developmental delays across all domains.
Conclusions:
- Both biological (RIHL) and environmental risk factors significantly impact infant development.
- The accumulation of risk factors exacerbates developmental delays.
- The absence of RIHL and the presence of quality home environments act as crucial protective factors, fostering skill acquisition in infants.
Introduction:
Risk factors are biological or environmental characteristics increasing the likelihood of delays in child development. Meanwhile, protective factors are conditions that can minimize risks and favor the acquisition of skills. Infants with risk indicators for hearing loss (RIHL) tend to live in less stimulating environments which may lead to lower cognitive, language, and motor development.
Objective:
To compare the cognitive, language, and motor development of infants under the influence of risk and protective factors.
Method:
A cross-sectional observational study in which 259 infants aged 8-10 months were assessed for cognitive, language, and motor development using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development - Third Edition (BSITD-III). The groups were formed according to the presence or absence of RIHL and the quality of the resources, being: SG-AE (Study Group with Adequate Environment), SG-IE (Study Group with Inadequate Environment), CG-AE (Compared Group with Adequate Environment)) and CG-IE (Compared Group with Inadequate Environment). Affordances were assessed using the questionnaire Affordances in the Home Environment for the Motor Development - Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS). The groups were compared using the Chi-square test or the Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by Dunn's multiple comparison test. The level of significance adopted was 5%.
Results:
Infants from the CG-AE performed better than the other groups in cognition and motor skills. The CG-AE language was statistically superior to the SG-IE. SG-IE showed the highest frequency of delays in all domains. CG-IE and SG-AE showed a similar frequency of delays. Adequate environment associated with the absence of RIHL (CG-AE) leads to better cognitive, language, and motor performances.
Conclusion:
Biological and environmental risk factors have a similar impact on development, but the accumulation of both tends to increase the risks of developmental delay. The absence of RIHL and quality environments worked as protective factors and favored the acquisition of skills.
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