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Attachment, self‐esteem, and psychomotor development in extremely premature children at preschool age
Author(s) -
Wintgens Anne,
Lépine Suzanne,
Lefebvre Francine,
Glorieux Jacqueline,
Gauthier Yvon,
Robaey Philippe
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0355(199824)19:4<394::aid-imhj3>3.0.co;2-e
Subject(s) - psychomotor learning , socioeconomic status , self esteem , psychology , developmental psychology , pediatrics , child development , intelligence quotient , cognitive development , medicine , cognition , population , psychiatry , environmental health
The aim of the study was to evaluate concomitantly self‐esteem and model of attachment to the mother in extremely premature (24–28 weeks of gestation) and full‐term children, in relation to the child's variables (neonatal condition, gender, cognitive development) and family variables (family adversity, socioeconomic status). Forty‐two extremely premature and 27 fullterm children were assessed at 5 years 9 months. For the premature children, neonatal status and developmental quotient (DQ) at 18 months were also obtained. Premature and fullterm children did not differ in attachment and self‐esteem categories. For all subjects, IQ at 5 years 9 months differed significantly across self‐esteem categories. Seventy percent of premature children who showed a decrease in IQ from 18 months to 5 years 9 months had a negative self‐esteem. In the premature group, DQ at 18 months was lower for the children that were categorized at 5 years 9 months with nonsecure attachment to the mother. Attachment appeared sensitive to early neuromotor impairments, and self‐esteem to the developmental level at the time of the evaluation.