Maternal and Child Characteristics that Influence the Growth of Daily Living Skills from Infancy to School Age in Preterm and Term Children

Research findings. Growth across 6 months to 8 years of age, assessed at seven time points, for daily living and cognitive skills was compared for term (n = 122), very low birth weight (VLBW) children of low (n = 114) and high (n = 73) medical risk and lower socioeconomic status (SES). Dramatic declines in daily living skills were found for all children, while cognitive skills were stable across this age range. By 8 years, daily living skills were in deficient ranges for all groups with both VLBW groups showing lower levels in both skill areas across all ages compared to term children. Relations between child and parenting factors and daily living skill growth were examined in order to better understand this decline. Early maternal general stimulation and directiveness predicted slower declines in daily living skills while higher parental developmental expectations predicted higher levels in daily living skills. Practice. These results demonstrated the negative impact of lower SES and biological risk on c...