3-010 - Longitudinal Studies of Children born Preterm: Biology, Parenting, and Child Outcomes

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Prematurity is a significant public health concern, with more than one in ten US infants born less than 37 weeks gestation each year (March of Dimes, 2007). Despite advances in neonatal care and declines in infant mortality, morbidities for preterm infants have not decreased. Previous research has established that preterm children show higher rates of cognitive delays, academic and behavior difficulties, ADHD, and impaired self-regulation compared to term children (Bhutta et al., 2002; Taylor et al., 2000). Although much prematurity research has focused on very preterm infants, 75% of preterm infants are born in the late preterm period (34-36 weeks gestation) they may be at increased risk for problems with behavior, attention, and school success (e.g., Morse, Zheng, Tang, & Roth, 2009). In addition to biological mechanisms, parenting and parental mental health can contribute to individual variability in the development of preterm children.

This symposium includes four longitudinal studies of preterm children, each assessing pathways to different outcomes. Paper 1 explores how parental sensitivity influences early learning and cognitive skills for late preterm children. The second paper identifies trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors in preterm children and examines child and family predictors of trajectory membership. The third paper explores biological mechanisms in prematurity that influence childhood ADHD symptoms. The fourth paper examines paternal mental health as a mediator of the link between prematurity and child cognitive outcomes. These papers provide insight into developmental outcomes for preterm children as they age from infancy through the transition to school.

Sub Unit

• Health, Growth, Injury

Chairs

• Julie A Poehlmann-Tynan, University of Wisconsin

• Emily D Gerstein, University of Missouri - St. Louis

Individual Presentations

• Cognitive Trajectories of Late Preterm Infants: The Role of Neonatal Risks and Parenting - Presenting Author: Prachi E. Shah, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Wonjung Oh, Texas Tech University; Julie A Poehlmann-Tynan, University of Wisconsin

• Behavior Problem Trajectories in Children born Preterm - Presenting Author: Emily D Gerstein, University of Missouri - St. Louis; Ashley C Woodman, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Cynthia F Burnson, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Julie A Poehlmann-Tynan, University of Wisconsin

• Medically-Indicated Late Preterm Birth and Childhood Attention Problems: The Role of Placental Characteristics - Presenting Author: Nicole M. Talge, Michigan State University; Claudia Holzman, Michigan State University; Bertha L Bullen, Michigan State University; Patricia K Senagore, Michigan State University

• Influences of Prematurity on Postpartum Paternal Depression and Early Cognitive Development - Presenting Author: Erika R Cheng, 1Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children; Milton Kotelchuck, Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children; Emily D Gerstein, University of Missouri - St. Louis; Julie A Poehlmann-Tynan, University of Wisconsin