Cognitive Competences in Preterm Infants across the First Year of Life: Assessments of Continuity, Stability, Coherence, Prediction, and Moderation by Infant Age and Country of Origin
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| Title: | Cognitive Competences in Preterm Infants across the First Year of Life: Assessments of Continuity, Stability, Coherence, Prediction, and Moderation by Infant Age and Country of Origin |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Maria Spinelli (ORCID |
| Source: | International Journal of Behavioral Development. 2025 49(3):299-311. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 13 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH) |
| Contract Number: | Z99HD999999 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Premature Infants, Cognitive Ability, Foreign Countries, Reliability, Predictive Validity, Age Differences, Visual Acuity, Novelty (Stimulus Dimension), Cognitive Development, Developmental Continuity |
| Geographic Terms: | Chile, United Kingdom, United States |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Home Observation for Measurement of Environment, Bayley Mental Development Index |
| DOI: | 10.1177/01650254241305559 |
| ISSN: | 0165-0254 1464-0651 |
| Abstract: | Understanding of preterm infant cognitive competences across the first year of life is limited regarding the developmental constructs of continuity, stability, coherence, and predictive validity as well as how they manifest by age and country of origin. This prospective longitudinal study examined and compared mean-level continuity, individual-differences stability, and associations among several cognitive competences as well as their predictive validity across the first year of life in preterm infants (gestational age range = 26-33 weeks) from Chile (n = 47), the United Kingdom (n = 48), and the United States (n = 50). Multiple cognitive competences (visual acuity measured with the Teller acuity card procedure; information processing duration of visual fixation and novelty preference examined with the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence; Bayley Mental and Psychomotor Indexes) were evaluated at five different ages in preterm infants between 2 and 12 months in each country. The effects of infant age, country, and their interaction were examined. Visual acuity increased over time with different trajectories across countries, whereas duration of visual fixation decreased; both were stable across time. Novelty preference demonstrated continuity, but not stability across time and country. Associations among different cognitive competences varied by country. Across countries, duration of visual fixation predicted the Bayley Mental Development Index, and visual acuity predicted the Bayley Psychomotor Development Index. Cognitive competences develop in similar and dissimilar ways across the first year of life in infants born preterm from different countries. Cultural specificities and age variations are discussed. Study findings underscore the necessity to attend to specificities of domain, age, and place when assessing preterm infants' cognitive competences. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1470991 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Understanding of preterm infant cognitive competences across the first year of life is limited regarding the developmental constructs of continuity, stability, coherence, and predictive validity as well as how they manifest by age and country of origin. This prospective longitudinal study examined and compared mean-level continuity, individual-differences stability, and associations among several cognitive competences as well as their predictive validity across the first year of life in preterm infants (gestational age range = 26-33 weeks) from Chile (n = 47), the United Kingdom (n = 48), and the United States (n = 50). Multiple cognitive competences (visual acuity measured with the Teller acuity card procedure; information processing duration of visual fixation and novelty preference examined with the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence; Bayley Mental and Psychomotor Indexes) were evaluated at five different ages in preterm infants between 2 and 12 months in each country. The effects of infant age, country, and their interaction were examined. Visual acuity increased over time with different trajectories across countries, whereas duration of visual fixation decreased; both were stable across time. Novelty preference demonstrated continuity, but not stability across time and country. Associations among different cognitive competences varied by country. Across countries, duration of visual fixation predicted the Bayley Mental Development Index, and visual acuity predicted the Bayley Psychomotor Development Index. Cognitive competences develop in similar and dissimilar ways across the first year of life in infants born preterm from different countries. Cultural specificities and age variations are discussed. Study findings underscore the necessity to attend to specificities of domain, age, and place when assessing preterm infants' cognitive competences. |
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| ISSN: | 0165-0254 1464-0651 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/01650254241305559 |
