Observed behaviours of pre-term children in a social play situation with classroom peers.
BACKGROUND
A number of studies have reported social adjustment problems in pre-term children.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the pre-term's behaviour in an experimental situation and correlate these observed behaviours with the children's peer-rated social behaviours (withdrawal, aggression and sociability/leadership).


METHODS
Of 56 pre-term children, 24 were classified as the sick pre-term (SPT) group and 32 children as the healthy pre-term (HPT) group. The comparison group comprised 56 healthy full-terms. The experimental situation used a game called Rush Hour, a labyrinth-type board game. The play situation was videotaped and behaviours (number of consecutive moves) were coded in real time.


RESULTS
At 12 years of age, the sick pre-term (SPT) group exhibited fewer consecutive moves during the game than the other two groups, especially when the task became more complex (involving four consecutives moves). Moreover, the Complex Task Index was correlated with the social withdrawal score rated by peers.


CONCLUSIONS
The at-birth sick pre-term gradually became less involved in a complex decision-making task and this was understood as a lesser ability to make a decision in a complex setting.
Nadeau
Line
L
CIRRIS, Québec, Canada. line.nadeau@rea.ulaval.ca
Tessier
Réjean
R
Descôteaux
Amélie
A
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005717:Games, Experimental; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000523:psychology*; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010379:Peer Group; D010988:Play and Playthings / Q000523:psychology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D014743:Videotape Recording