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Complementing the success of medical intervention
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This study explores evaluating preterm children's psychological development, suggesting new cognitive methods can improve mental functioning and complement medical care for better outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Standardized intelligence tests have limitations in assessing preterm children's cognitive abilities.
- Previous research extensively used these tests throughout childhood evaluations.
- Current understanding of intelligence necessitates more nuanced assessment methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To contextualize research on preterm children's psychological integrity.
- To highlight limitations of traditional intelligence tests for preterms.
- To introduce alternative, theory-congruent methods for evaluating preterm intelligence.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing research on preterm psychological development.
- Critique of standardized intelligence testing in preterm populations.
- Discussion of alternative cognitive assessment approaches.
Main Results:
- Standardized tests inadequately capture the mental competencies of preterm children.
- Alternative evaluation methods align with current intelligence theories.
- Interventions can enhance psychological adjustment and cognitive function in preterms.
Conclusions:
- Psychological interventions complement neonatal medical care for preterm children.
- Advances in cognitive psychology enable effective evaluation and intervention programs.
- Improved mental functioning and potential repair of CNS damage in preterms are achievable.
Abstract:
In this article we have placed the studies reported in this issue of Seminars in Perinatology in the context of research that has been conducted to evaluate the psychologic integrity of preterms. We have focused on the limitations of standardized tests of intelligence as indices of mental competencies, since these tests have been used extensively in studies that evaluate preterms throughout childhood. We described alternative methods for the evaluation of intelligence that are congruent with current theory and data about the nature of intelligence. We have implied that (A) theoretical considerations regarding the mutual and interdependent influences of biology and environment on the course of normal and abnormal human development suggest that intervention aimed at enhancing the psychologic adjustment of preterm children will complement the benefits gained through medical interventions in the neonatal period, and that (B) theoretical and methodological advances in cognitive psychology make it now possible to embark on research programs of evaluation and intervention that could improve the mental functioning of many preterms and hopefully repair some of the damage their central nervous system suffered in early infancy.