Eveliina Joensuu, Petriina Munck, Anna Nyman, Helena Lapinleimu, Leena Haataja, Suvi Stolt
{"title":"Language skills at 2 years predict reading comprehension at 11 in children born very preterm - a longitudinal cohort study.","authors":"Eveliina Joensuu, Petriina Munck, Anna Nyman, Helena Lapinleimu, Leena Haataja, Suvi Stolt","doi":"10.1080/09297049.2025.2566096","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Children born very preterm (VP, <32 gestational weeks and/or birth weight ≤1500 g) are at risk for difficulties in language and reading. It is unclear whether early language is predictive for later reading skills in this population. We aimed to investigate the predictive value of language at 2;0 for reading at 11;0 in children born VP. The study comprised 115 Finnish-speaking children born VP. At 2;0, language skills were assessed with the Finnish long-form of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. At 11;0, reading fluency and reading comprehension were evaluated using the Finnish Primary School Reading Test. The language variables explained 32%-33% of the variance in reading comprehension at 11;0. No clear associations between early language and reading fluency were found. Early language had high specificity but low sensitivity for identifying weak reading comprehension at 11;0. The findings provide support for the continuum between early language and later reading comprehension in children born VP. Evaluating language skills at 2;0 provides important predictive insight into later reading comprehension. Validated parental-report instruments offer valuable data on the language skills of children born preterm at this age. It is recommended to include these tools in the clinical follow-up of very preterm children.</p>","PeriodicalId":9789,"journal":{"name":"Child Neuropsychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-16"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Child Neuropsychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2025.2566096","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Children born very preterm (VP, <32 gestational weeks and/or birth weight ≤1500 g) are at risk for difficulties in language and reading. It is unclear whether early language is predictive for later reading skills in this population. We aimed to investigate the predictive value of language at 2;0 for reading at 11;0 in children born VP. The study comprised 115 Finnish-speaking children born VP. At 2;0, language skills were assessed with the Finnish long-form of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. At 11;0, reading fluency and reading comprehension were evaluated using the Finnish Primary School Reading Test. The language variables explained 32%-33% of the variance in reading comprehension at 11;0. No clear associations between early language and reading fluency were found. Early language had high specificity but low sensitivity for identifying weak reading comprehension at 11;0. The findings provide support for the continuum between early language and later reading comprehension in children born VP. Evaluating language skills at 2;0 provides important predictive insight into later reading comprehension. Validated parental-report instruments offer valuable data on the language skills of children born preterm at this age. It is recommended to include these tools in the clinical follow-up of very preterm children.
期刊介绍:
The purposes of Child Neuropsychology are to:
publish research on the neuropsychological effects of disorders which affect brain functioning in children and adolescents,
publish research on the neuropsychological dimensions of development in childhood and adolescence and
promote the integration of theory, method and research findings in child/developmental neuropsychology.
The primary emphasis of Child Neuropsychology is to publish original empirical research. Theoretical and methodological papers and theoretically relevant case studies are welcome. Critical reviews of topics pertinent to child/developmental neuropsychology are encouraged.
Emphases of interest include the following: information processing mechanisms; the impact of injury or disease on neuropsychological functioning; behavioral cognitive and pharmacological approaches to treatment/intervention; psychosocial correlates of neuropsychological dysfunction; definitive normative, reliability, and validity studies of psychometric and other procedures used in the neuropsychological assessment of children and adolescents. Articles on both normal and dysfunctional development that are relevant to the aforementioned dimensions are welcome. Multiple approaches (e.g., basic, applied, clinical) and multiple methodologies (e.g., cross-sectional, longitudinal, experimental, multivariate, correlational) are appropriate. Books, media, and software reviews will be published.