Predictors Of Mental Development Research Articles

Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale as a predictor of cognitive development and IQ in full‐term infants: a 6‐year longitudinal study

To evaluate the predictive capacity of neonatal behaviour on infant mental and psychomotor development at 4 and 12 months, and infant intelligence at 6 years. Eighty full-term newborns were followed from 3 days until 6 years. Neonatal behaviour was assessed by the Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale (NBAS) at 3 days postpartum, infant mental and psychomotor development was assessed by the Bayley Scales for Infant Development at 4 and 12 months, and child intelligence was assessed by the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence at 6 years. Neonatal general irritability was the predictor of mental development at 12 months. Self-regulation behaviours were predictors of psychomotor development at 4 and 12 months and verbal and total intelligence quotient at 6 years. Neonatal orientation was a predictor of performance Wechsler subtests related to visomotor abilities and attention. Neonatal self-regulation behaviours were the best predictors of infant development and intelligence. We suggest that the NBAS could be a useful tool to observe behaviours related to later development in healthy infants.

Long‐term cumulative effects of childcare on children's mental development and socioemotional adjustment in a non‐risk sample: the moderating effects of gender

We studied the long‐term cumulative effects of two common indices of childcare—the total number of hours of non‐maternal care and the mean hour‐weighted child‐to‐caregiver ratio per caregiving situation—on mental development and socioemotional adjustment from birth to 4.5 years old in a non‐risk middle‐class sample of girls and boys after taking into consideration child (gender and sibling status), maternal (education and concepts of child development), and family selection (socioeconomic status [SES] factors. Childcare indices did not differ in girls and boys year by year. Children experienced less non‐maternal care in their first year of life, but afterward children encountered more children in their caregiving situations in proportion to the number of caregivers. At age 4.5 years, girls scored higher on cognitive and language measures than boys, and boys exhibited more externalizing problem behaviors than girls. Hours of non‐maternal care were not a predictor of mental development or socioemotional adjustment; however, the child‐to‐caregiver ratio was. For cognitive outcomes, the ratio exerted a positive effect on children from higher SES backgrounds versus no effect on children from average or lower SES backgrounds. For behavioral adjustment outcomes, a higher ratio was associated with fewer behavioral problems in girls and more behavioral problems in boys. Different basic indices of childcare appear to have different long‐term cumulative effects for different domains of development in girls and boys.

Serial Ultrasonographic Observations of Cerebral Ventricular Size in Pre-term Infants

We measured the size of the cerebral ventricles in 86 pre-term infants by ultrasonography every 2 to 3 months for one year. Their developmental quotients (DQ) were examined at the age of 1 to 2 years. Ventricular size in a control group of 50 normal full-term infants was also measured. The size of the cerebral ventricles in the full-term infants had increased by three months after birth, whereas that in the pre-term infants had increased not by chronological 3 months after birth, but by corrected 3 months of age. In the pre-term infants, the left ventricle was larger than the right at a few months after birth. However, there was no difference between left and right ventricular size in the normal full-term infants. Infants with a lower DQ had larger lateral ventricles. Although the sensitivity of ventricular enlargement as a predictor of mental development was 50%, the specificity was high.

Predictors of Haitian-American Infant Development at Twelve Months

Perinatal and early childhood influences on the development of 66 Haitian-American children were examined as part of an ongoing home visiting program. Although all participants were impoverished, approximately two-thirds lived in an urban setting with some access to social and health services, while one-third lived in a rural farmworkers' community where housing and services were sharply substandard. Measures used to examine the development of infants in these 2 settings included birthweight, household crowding, parental contributions to the child-rearing environment (the HOME), and developmental progress at 12 months on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Results showed that the urban sample was advanced on the Mental Development Index of the Bayley Scales. Regression analyses showed birthweight and the HOME score measuring child-rearing environment to be significant predictors of mental development, while psychomotor development was related to birthweight and household crowding. The results indicate that even within this disadvantaged Haitian entrant population, environmental differences exist that influence infant development in subtle but significant ways.

Cross-modal and intramodal transfer as predictors of mental development in full-term and preterm infants.

Cross-modal and intramodal transfer as predictors of mental development in full-term and preterm infants.

Cross-modal and intramodal transfer as predictors of mental development in full-term and preterm infants.

Cross-modal and intramodal transfer as predictors of mental development in full-term and preterm infants.