Briefly reviews research concerned with symbolic development in children born prematurely. Focus is on the complex process of sorting out the effects of biological maturation and environmental experience in the study of the emergent processes, and examining the effects of biological risk and environmental opportunity in determining developmental…

The appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants from 30 pairs of full-term and 15 pairs of preterm same-sex twins were compared for neonatal temperament. The evaluation of neonatal temperament included ratings of irritability, resistance to soothing, activity level, reactivity, and reinforcement value. Results…

Ten children with a history of prematurity and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) were matched with 101 full-term controls in the single-word stage of language. Control subjects demonstrated superior performance on all receptive language and child verbosity measures despite their younger age. (Author/CL)

Part of a larger study investigating the longitudinal effects of prematurity, illness, and hospitalization, this study focuses on parent perceptions of their infants at 2, 4, and 6 months of age, with age being corrected for conceptional age at birth. It was hypothesized that neonatal condition and age of infant at the time of measurement would…

Premature birth (defined as delivery before 37 weeks gestation) and low birthweight (below 2,500 grams) are major health problems in the United States. Infants in these categories account for 75 per cent of neonatal deaths and 50 per cent of deaths in the first year of life. Survivors contribute disproportionately to the pool of handicapped…

Assessments of play, sensorimotor, language, and general developmental skills were administered to two preterm and 20 full-term infants. Preterm infants showed some delays greater than would be predicted from biological maturity alone, but delays were not present for all skills and generally were not maintained beyond 2 years of age. (Author/RH)

The development of 100 preterm infants from various social class and ethnic backgrounds was followed from birth to 5 years. Results indicated that developmental outcome at age 5 could be predicted moderately well from a single measure (infant visual attention) administered as early as term date. (Author/RH)

The article differentiates parental stress experienced after the birth of a high-risk premature infant from the normal stress of transition to parenthood. A review of the literature delineates a conceptual framework for relating preterm at-risk birth to specific parental stress reactions, and proposes strategies for alleviating these…

Structural and functional features of productive language of 15 healthy and 30 at-risk two-year-olds were compared. Although premature and physically handicapped toddlers did not differ significantly from each other, both groups were delayed in a variety of structural indices of productive language. On functional features of language usage,…

Reviews the history of the developmental study of infants and children at biological risk and appraises the current state of the art. Four research phases during the period from 1920 to the present are identified, each reflecting aspects of the social, political, health, and psychological zeitgeist. (Author/RH)

Reports the effects of a hospital-to-home transitional support program for 47 mothers of infants who were treated in an intensive-care unit. Findings indicate positive effects of the program on the sense of competence, perceived control, and responsiveness of mothers who needed the most support. (RJC)

To determine whether deficits warranting intervention are present in the later functioning of high-risk infants, 22 premature infants who experienced asphyxia or chronic lung disease (CLD) but who had no gross developmental abnormalities were evaluated. Assessments of auditory perception and receptive language ability were made during later…

The word "stress" all too often describes the emotional state of a parent after the premature birth of a high risk infant. Research studies indicate specific reasons for parental stress in the context and settings associated with the premature birth of a child. Such reasons include lack of preparation for the early birth, the immature appearance…

The study compared performance of very low birthweight (VLBW) children at 5 years of age who were enrolled in regular preschool and kindergarten classes with matched classmate controls on cognitive measures and teacher rated classroom behavior. Outcome measures included the Slosson Intelligence Test, Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration,…