Development and temperament in very low birth weight infants--the second year

This article reports findings from the second year of a two-year longitudinal study designed to assess the VLBW infant in the areas of temperament, development, and the home environment. Data were obtained from 20 of the original 26 infants who participated in the study. During a home visit the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST), the Toddler Temperament Questionnaire (TTQ), and the Home Observation Measurement for Evaluation Inventory (HOME) were completed. Twenty percent of the toddlers were at-risk for developmental delay when assessed at the corrected gestational age. This compares to 42% who were deemed to be at-risk during the first year of life. No relationship was found between developmental-risk status and the quality of the home environment. The VLBW toddlers' temperaments were not significantly different from the standardization population. However, there were fewer easy toddlers than would be expected. During the second year the percentage of difficult children decreased from 38% to 10%. The VLBW toddler's behavioral style was characterized by arrhythmicity and low persistence. There was a moderate correlation between home environment and the toddler's activity level. High activity was negatively correlated with maternal involvement and provision of appropriate play things. The families of the 20 toddlers scored on the upper 25th percentile on the HOME Inventory. The high quality of the childrearing environment was stable over the two years.