Page 41 - Sample Moderate prematurity, socioeconomic status, and neurodevelopment in early childhood

Prevalence of behavioural and emotional problems
One potential limitation of this study is that we did not obtain a professional
assessment of the behavioural and emotional problems. If the observations of
professionals could have been compared with parents’ observations, the results of
this study would have provided a more complete picture of the behavioural and
emotional problems in MP children. However, parent-reported problems seem
to be very important for the identification of psychosocial problems.30 Another
limitation of this study is the lack of information on some early risk factors for
behavioural and emotional problems, such as maternal depression and preschool
educational experience. Further research is needed to determine the joint effects
of maternal psychological, obstetrical, and environmental factors on behavioural
and emotional problems. 3
Conclusion
Our results demonstrate that MP children are more likely to have behavioural and emotional problems already at pre-school age. Therefore, MP children could be a potential target group for prevention of mental health problems, as behavioural and emotional problems in early childhood tend to persist in later childhood and adolescence.31-33 Moreover, mental health problems have a great impact on the developmental and social competencies at school and in the community.31-33 Interventions at early school age might, for example, include extra support at school or even specialized school services, along with psychological assistance. Our findings need to be confirmed by other studies, as we were the first to assess the full range of behavioural and emotional problems in MP children just before they enter school.
Acknowledgements
We thank E.M.J. ten Vergert MD, B.M. van der Hulst MD, and M.J. Broer van Dijk, Child Health Care doctors, for coordinating the field work.
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