Risk for later school problems in preterm children who do not cooperate for preschool developmental testing.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether preterm children born at </=32 weeks' gestation who did not cooperate for developmental testing at 3(1/2) to 4(1/2) years old were more likely to have school problems at 7 to 10 years old than preterm children who completed developmental testing.


METHODS
The McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities were administered to a cohort of 118 preterm children at 3(1/2) to 4(1/2) years old when they were seen in the neonatal follow-up clinic. When these children were 7 to 10 years old, their parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist, and the child's teacher completed the Teacher's Report Form.


RESULTS
Parents returned questionnaires on 105 (89%) children. On the Teacher's Report Form, children who were untestable had more somatic complications and more attention problems and scored higher on the Total Problems Scale and the Internalizing Scale than children who had completed testing. Children who were untestable were twice as likely to receive help in school than were children who completed developmental testing.


CONCLUSIONS
Preterm children born at </=32 weeks' gestation who do not cooperate for developmental testing at 3(1/2) to 4(1/2) years old should be examined at school age for evidence of school and behavior problems.
Langkamp
D L
DL
Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Brazy
J E
JE
D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests