The purpose of this study is to extend into the school age years (ages 6 to 10 and grades K through 4) a longitudinal multivariate research project describing the developmental progress and behavioral styles of very low birth weight children (VLBW less than 1500 grams).
The specific aims of the project are to: (1) Provide practitioners and researchers with information about the specific cognitive and behavioral processes of children who were very low birth weight; (2) Analyze the interplay of the multiple factors that influence outcome in VLBW; (3) Identify antecedent variables which predict school achievement and school adjustment in children who were VLBW; and (4) Compare the school achievement, school adjustment, behavioral styles and cognitive processing abilities of children who were VLBW with their normal birth weight peers. The subjects consist of 104 children in three groups: 40 six-year olds who were VLBW; 40 normal-birth-weight classmates who are matched for age, birth order, maternal education, father's occupational category, gender and race; and 24 normal-birth-weight siblings of the VLBW children. Data will be gathered during home visits and from school records. The instruments used in the study will measure children's behavioral competencies, styles, the incidence of behavioral problems; children's cognitive processing abilities, cognition and school achievement; and environment process variables, which indicate the social, emotional and cognitive supports available to the child in the home. Data from the first five years of the study on perinatal adversity, biological immaturity, the home environment and developmental and behavioral characteristics will also be used in data analysis. Data will be analyzed using t-tests, Manova, Repeated Measures Anova, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficients, and Multiple Regression Analysis.
| Schraeder, B D; Czajka, C; Kalman, D D et al. (1998) Respiratory health, lung function, and airway responsiveness in school-age survivors of very-low-birth-weight. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 37:237-45 |
| Schraeder, B D; Heverly, M A; O'Brien, C et al. (1997) Academic achievement and educational resource use of very low birth weight (VLBW) survivors. Pediatr Nurs 23:21-5, 44 |
| Schraeder, B D; Heverly, M A; O'Brien, C (1996) The influence of early biological risk and the home environment on nine-year outcome of very low birth weight. Can J Nurs Res 28:79-95 |
| Schraeder, B D; McEvoy-Shields, K (1991) Visual acuity, binocular vision, and ocular muscle balance in VLBW children. Pediatr Nurs 17:30-3 |
