Executive Functions and Reading Skills in Low-Risk Preterm Children.

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Extremely and very preterm children often exhibit deficits in executive functions (EFs) and reading skills compared to full-term (FT) children.
• Research findings are less clear for preterm (PT) children born under lower-risk conditions.
• Executive functions are known to influence reading ability in typically developing and preterm children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate executive functions and reading skills in low-risk preterm children longitudinally.
• To compare the performance of low-risk preterm children across different gestational age groups with full-term children.
• To examine the relationship between executive functions and reading skills in this population.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal study followed 111 preterm children (grouped by gestational age) and 34 full-term children from age 4 to 9.
• Executive functions were assessed at ages 4, 5, and 8.
• Reading skills were evaluated at age 9, with relationships analyzed using multiple linear regression.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in executive functions or reading skills were found between full-term children and any preterm group.
• Executive functions had a low to moderate effect on reading skills.
• Verbal and non-verbal working memory positively impacted decoding, while higher-order EFs and inhibitory control influenced reading comprehension.

Conclusions:

• Low-risk preterm children demonstrate comparable executive function and reading competence to their full-term peers.
• Executive functions assessed years earlier have lasting predictive effects on reading skills at age 9.
• Specific executive functions differentially impact various reading processes, from decoding to comprehension.