Cognitive Function, Emotional and Behavioral Problems, and Temperament of Premature Children

Dong-Hyun Ahn; Aran Min; Kangryul Kim; Kyung-Ah Kim; Mi-Young Oh; Hyun Ju Lee; Hyun-Kyung Park; Hyewon Park

doi:10.5765/jkacap.180024

Cognitive Function, Emotional and Behavioral Problems, and Temperament of Premature Children

Soa Chongsonyon Chongsin Uihak. 2019 Jan 1;30(1):34-41. doi: 10.5765/jkacap.180024.

Authors

Dong-Hyun Ahn^{1

2}, Aran Min¹, Kangryul Kim¹, Kyung-Ah Kim¹, Mi-Young Oh¹, Hyun Ju Lee³, Hyun-Kyung Park³, Hyewon Park⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
² Department of Psychiatry, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
³ Department of Pediatrics, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
⁴ Department of Child & Family Welfare, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, Korea.

Abstract

Objectives: We aimed to compare preterm, neurodevelopmentally disordered and healthy full-term children.

Methods: We enrolled 47 children who were born preterm, 40 neurodevelopmentally disordered children, and 80 healthy children as control participants, in order to assess the cognitive functioning and the risk of behavioral problems at the age of 5. Children were assessed using the Korean Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-4th edition (K-WPPSI-IV), the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI).

Results: The mean K-WPPSI-IV score of the preterm group was 87.19±17.36, which was significantly higher than that of the neurodevelopmental disorder group (69.98±28.63; p<0.001) but lower than that of the control group (107.74±14.21; p<0.001). The cumulative CBCL scores of the preterm children were not significantly different from those of the control group. Additionally, the TCI scores for reward dependence of the preterm children were higher than those of the control group.

Conclusion: The cognitive performance of preterm infants was lower than that of healthy full-term infants at the age of 5, and there was an association between slower growth and decreased cognitive ability.

Keywords: Cognitive function; Emotional and behavioral problems; Korean Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence; Preterm; Temperament.