title: Mother and child behaviour in very preterm and term dyads at 6 and 8 years.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mothers of very preterm children have been reported to behave less sensitively and to be more controlling. It is unknown whether this is the result of maternal factors or due to maternal adaptation to children's cognitive problems.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated a geographically defined prospective whole-population sample of very low birthweight (<1500 g) or very preterm (<32 wks' gestation; VLBW/VP) children (n = 267, 124 females, 143 males) and a comparison group born at term (n = 298, 146 females, 152 males) in Germany. Mother-child interactions were videotaped during a play situation and analysed with a standardized coding system at children's mean ages of 6 years 3 months and 8 years 5 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At both 6 years 3 months and 8 years 5 months, VLBW/VP children were less task persistent and socially active (p<0.001) whereas their mothers behaved less sensitively and were more controlling than term mother-child dyads (p<0.001). Cross-sectional group differences in maternal behaviour remained when scores where adjusted for social factors but disappeared once adjusted for child IQ. High maternal sensitivity predicted higher task persistence (p<0.001), in particular in those children with cognitive problems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mothers of VLBW/VP children adapt their behaviour to their children's level of cognitive functioning. High maternal sensitivity is particularly beneficial for task persistence in children with cognitive deficits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Division of Mental Health and Wellbeing, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Conventry, UK.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jaekel
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wolke
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chernova
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012720:Severity of Illness Index