Cognitive and emotional regulation developmental issues in preterm infants 12 and 24 months after birth

The development of 74 preterm and 38 full-term infants' cognitive and emotional regulation behaviour was assessed in a problem-solving task at 12 and 18 months. Two groups of preterm infants were studied: 38 children born under 30 weeks gestational age (GA) and 36 children born between 30 and 32 weeks GA. Behaviour in premature infants is compared to that of a group of 38 full-term infants. At 12 months the executive skills were observed with Willatts's 3-stage problem-solving task. At 24 months, the efficiency of the executive functions (inhibition, working memory) was assessed using Diamond's 3-Box Task. Emotional regulation behaviour was recorded using Weinberg and Tronick's Infant Regulatory Scoring System. Results showed that the very preterm and full-term infants did not differ in terms of executive efficiency at 12 and 24 months. However, preterm infants did present different emotional regulation profiles. Compared to full-term infants, very preterm infants displayed a lower frequency in social behaviours directed toward people, with less social involvement.