| Abstract [eng] |
Aim. To identify the developmental milestones of language and social behaviour in preterm children and their relationship to the support that parents receive and provide, and to describe the psychological experiences of mothers raising a preterm child. Subjects: Cohort of 40 preterm children and a comparison group of 46 full term children (from a standardised sample of the Scales of child development, collected at VU). The age of the subjects ranged from 5 months to 3 years, with 53,5 % boys and 46,5% girls. Research tools. Scales of child development, Partner support questionnaire. Interviews were also held with mothers of preterm children. Research strategy: quantitative comparative and correlational analysis, qualitative content analysis of interviews. Results: the study found that preterm and full term children show similar expression of social behaviour and language development. Higher performance of social behaviour in preterm children is related to the emotional support provided by the mother to her partner, while their higher level language skills are related to the confirmation of the dad's role. The social behavior of premature infants is related to greater situational support provided by both parents. |
