Object engagement and manipulation in extremely preterm and full term infants at 6 months of age.
Delays in the motor domain have been frequently observed in preterm children, especially those born at an extremely low gestational age (ELGA;<28 weeks GA). However, early motor exploration has received relatively little attention despite its relevance for object knowledge and its impact on cognitive and language development. The present study aimed at comparing early object exploration in 20 ELGA and 20 full-term (FT) infants at 6 months of age during a 5-minute mother-infant play interaction. Object engagement (visual vs manual), visual object engagement (no act vs reach), manual object engagement (passive vs active), and active object manipulation (mouthing, transferring, banging, turn/rotating, shaking, fingering) were analyzed. Moreover, the Griffiths Mental Development Scales 0-2 years (1996) were administered to the infants. Relative to FT peers, ELGA infants spent more time in visual engagement, and less time in manual engagement, active manipulation, mouthing, and turning/rotating. Moreover, they had lower scores on general psychomotor development, eye & hand coordination, and performance abilities. Close relationships emerged between manual object engagement and psychomotor development. Clinical implications of these results in terms of early evaluation of action schemes in ELGA infants and the provision of intervention programs for supporting these abilities are discussed.
Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Via Berti Pichat 5, 40127 Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: mariagrazia.zuccarini@unibo.it.
Mariagrazia
M
Zuccarini
Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Via Berti Pichat 5, 40127 Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: alessandra.sansavini@unibo.it.
Alessandra
A
Sansavini
Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, USA. Electronic address: jiverson@pitt.edu.
Jana M
JM
Iverson
Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Via Berti Pichat 5, 40127 Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: silvia.savini3@unibo.it.
Silvia
S
Savini
Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Via Berti Pichat 5, 40127 Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: annalisa.guarini@unibo.it.
Annalisa
A
Guarini
Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit - S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: rosina.alessandroni@aosp.bo.it.
Rosina
R
Alessandroni
Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit - S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: giacomo.faldella@unibo.it.
Giacomo
G
Faldella
Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy. Electronic address: t.aureli@unich.it.
Tiziana
T
Aureli
D002657:Child Development; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D062071:Infant, Extremely Premature; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009048:Motor Skills; D010988:Play and Playthings; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014796:Visual Perception
6 months-old-infants; Extremely Low Gestational Age preterm infants; object manipulation