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Influence of birth weight on educational outcomes at age 9: the Miami site of the Infant Health and Development
1Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA.
Insights
Early intervention for low birth weight (LBW) infants improves school outcomes. However, LBW children without intervention face significant risks for poor academic achievement and special education placement compared to normal birth weight peers.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- The Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) provided early intervention for infants born low birth weight (LBW) and preterm.
- The Miami site uniquely included a normal birth weight (NBW) comparison group and had the lowest sociodemographic characteristics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of LBW and early intervention on school outcomes using epidemiological methods.
- To analyze the unique Miami IHDP sample with its specific comparison group and sociodemographic profile.
Main Methods:
- Epidemiological analysis of school outcomes in LBW and NBW infants.
- Comparison of academic achievement and special education placement rates between groups.
Main Results:
- Children born LBW without intervention showed increased risk for low achievement test scores and three times higher special education placement than NBW peers.
- LBW children receiving intervention had better school outcomes than non-intervened LBW peers, but still lagged behind NBW children, though not statistically significant.
Conclusions:
- LBW infants not receiving early intervention are at significant risk for poor school outcomes.
- Early intervention shows a positive trend in improving school outcomes for LBW infants, though further research may be needed to reach statistical significance compared to NBW peers.
Abstract:
The Miami site of the Infant Health and Development Program, an early intervention for infants born low birth weight (LBW) and preterm, was investigated. Analyses unique to this sample were required because it was the only site that selected a normal birth weight (NBW) comparison group and had the lowest sociodemographic characteristics. Epidemiological methods determined the effects of LBW and early intervention on school outcomes. Children born LBW who did not receive intervention had an increased risk of scoring below the 10th percentile on achievement tests and were placed in special education three times more often than their peers born NBW. The school outcomes of children born LBW who received intervention were consistently better than those who did not, but were worse than children born NBW; however, differences did not reach statistical significance. Children born LBW who did not receive intervention are at significant risk for poor school outcomes compared with their peers born NBW.