The relationship between executive functioning and adaptive behavior in 2-year-old children with very low birth weight
Year: 2009
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Objective: Few studies have examined the effects of very low birth weight (< 1500g, VLBW) on specific cognitive skills in young children.Research has also failed to examine associations of cognitive abilities in young children with adaptive behavior and social-emotional functioning.The current study was the first to our knowledge to investigate the relationship between developing cognitive skills and day-to-day functioning in toddlers born with VLBW.Methods: A study of 32 VLBW children at a mean corrected age of 21 months was conducted.The mean birth weight of the sample was 1114g and the average gestational age was 28.4 weeks.The purpose of the study was to determine if measures of executive functioning, the A-Not-B task and the Self Control task, predicted adaptive behavior (as measured by the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales) and social-emotional functioning (as measured by the Brief Infant-Toddler Social-Emotional Assessment).The incremental validity of these executive measures in predicting functional outcomes after taking mental development, as measured by the Mental Development Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development into account, was also examined.Finally, we investigated the sensitivity of the cognitive measures in relation to markers of neonatal risk.Results: All functional domains except for Socialization were significantly related to executive skills.Perseverations on the A-not-B task, were uniquely related to neonatal risk variables with higher perseverations associated with shorter gestational age, longer hospital stays, and more days on oxygen.Perseverations also accounted for unique variance in two functional domains (Daily Living Skills and Communication) after taking the MDI into account.Conclusions: Study findings provide preliminary support for the sensitivity of measures of executive skill to the biological and functional sequelae of VLBW and highlight the feasibility and importance of assessing these skills in toddlers with VLBW.
Author: Courtney Elizabeth Johnson
Institution: Case Western Reserve University
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2492418078