TY - JOUR
T1 - Prematurity may negatively impact means-end problem solving across the first two years of life
AU - Cunha, Andrea Baraldi
AU - Babik, Iryna
AU - Ross, Samantha M.
AU - Logan, Samuel W.
AU - Galloway, James C.
AU - Clary, Erika
AU - Lobo, Michele A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2018/10
Y1 - 2018/10
N2 - Preterm infants are at risk for delays in motor, perceptual, and cognitive development. While research has shown preterm infants may exhibit learning delays in the first months of life, these delays are commonly under-diagnosed. The purpose of this study was to longitudinally evaluate behavioral performance and learning in two means-end problem-solving tasks for 30 infants born preterm (PT) and 23 born full-term (FT). Infants were assessed at 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months-old in tasks that required towel pulling or turntable rotation to obtain a distant object. PT infants performed more non–goal-directed and less goal-directed behavior than FT infants throughout the study, resulting in a lower success rate among PT infants. PT infants showed delayed emergence of intentionality (prevalence of goal-directed behaviors) compared to FT infants in both tasks. Amount and variability of behavioral performance significantly correlated with task success differentially across age. The learning differences documented between PT and FT infants suggest means-end problem-solving tasks may be useful for the early detection of learning delays. The identification of behaviors associated with learning and success across age may be used to guide interventions aimed at advancing early learning for infants at risk.
AB - Preterm infants are at risk for delays in motor, perceptual, and cognitive development. While research has shown preterm infants may exhibit learning delays in the first months of life, these delays are commonly under-diagnosed. The purpose of this study was to longitudinally evaluate behavioral performance and learning in two means-end problem-solving tasks for 30 infants born preterm (PT) and 23 born full-term (FT). Infants were assessed at 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months-old in tasks that required towel pulling or turntable rotation to obtain a distant object. PT infants performed more non–goal-directed and less goal-directed behavior than FT infants throughout the study, resulting in a lower success rate among PT infants. PT infants showed delayed emergence of intentionality (prevalence of goal-directed behaviors) compared to FT infants in both tasks. Amount and variability of behavioral performance significantly correlated with task success differentially across age. The learning differences documented between PT and FT infants suggest means-end problem-solving tasks may be useful for the early detection of learning delays. The identification of behaviors associated with learning and success across age may be used to guide interventions aimed at advancing early learning for infants at risk.
KW - Exploration
KW - Infant
KW - Learning
KW - Means-end problem solving
KW - Preterm
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044614559&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2018.03.007
U2 - 10.1016/j.ridd.2018.03.007
DO - 10.1016/j.ridd.2018.03.007
M3 - Article
C2 - 29609836
AN - SCOPUS:85044614559
SN - 0891-4222
VL - 81
SP - 24
EP - 36
JO - Research in Developmental Disabilities
JF - Research in Developmental Disabilities
ER -