Neonatal risk and coordinated joint attention episodes with mothers and fathers relate to language skills of preterm children aged 2-4 years

Abstract

The present study investigates individual differences in preterm children’s language skills in relation to neonatal risk and Joint Attention (JA) skills. Fifty-four mother-child (Mchildage=37.89 months; SD=11.51) and 35 father-child (Mchildage=36.75 months; SD=11.86) dyads participated in the study. Neonatal risk was assessed using medical reports/parental questionnaires. JA characteristics (frequency, duration, type of JA, agent of initiation and termination, missed attempts) were coded moment-by-moment during free-play interactions with mothers and fathers, separately. Language outcomes were measured via the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-3rd Edition and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-4th Edition. Preterm children with lower neonatal risk scores and who had higher proportions of Coordinated JA with their mothers and fathers achieved higher language scores. Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that neonatal risk and Coordinated JA with mothers and fathers (separately) explained unique variance in preterm children’s language outcomes.