The Social Behaviour of 11- to 12-year-old Children Born as Low Birthweight and/or Premature Infants

Abstract

Two studies (Study 1 and Study 2) were carried out to compare the social behaviour of school-aged children born as premature and/or low birthweight infants, with that of children born as healthy fullterm infants. Participants in Study 1 were 147 11-year-olds of whom 49 (29 females and 20 males) were reported by their parents to have been born prematurely. Participants in Study 2 were 84 11-year-old boys, 28 of whom were born with a birthweight less than 2000 grams. These at-risk subjects were followed for a period of two years. Subgroups within both study groups were matched with control groups using gender, age, and the school environment as common factors. Children in the target classes of Study 1 were classified using the Revised Class Play (Masten, Morison, & Pelligrini, 1985) and the Peer Nomination Inventory (Perry, Kusel, & Perry, 1988). In Study 2, the children completed the Pupil Evaluation Inventory (PEI) (Pekarik, Prinz, Liebert, Weintraub, & Neale, 1976). Findings suggest that aggressive behaviour is not related to birth status and that birth status is not linked to prosocial behaviour associated with sociability and likeability. However, both studies showed that children (boys and girls alike) born as premature or low birthweight infants, expressed greater levels of internalised social behaviour. These findings suggest that infants born premature and/or with a low birthweight may be less socially competent with their peers during their school-age years.