Determinanten van gedrags- en schoolproblemen bij ex-premature knderen met een zeer laag geboortegewicht

The goal of this study was to find the determinants of behavioral and school problems of 5-year-old low-birth-weight infants. A group of 150 children born before 32 weeks of gestational age or with a birthweight under 1.500 gram has been investigated. Compared to the normal population, the group of preterm children showed significant more behavioral problems and more children of the study group were attending or were applied for special education. Children with behavioral problems distinguished themselves from children without behavioral problems by poor general health and a compromised cognitive development. Children with school problems distinguished themselves from children without school problems by more frequent consultations of medical specialists and by more neurological problems. The motor and cognitive development appeared to be less, as well as language comprehension and sentence construction. The results of this study lead to the recommendation of structural follow-up screening at the start of primary school in order to assess risk factors and to prevent an accumalation of behavioral and school problems.