Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T00:53:15.524Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cognitive Development and Behaviour in Very Low Birthweight Twins at Four Years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

J.A. Dezoete  and
B.A. MacArthur
J.A. Dezoete*
Affiliation:
Child Development Unit, National Women's Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
B.A. MacArthur
Affiliation:
Child Development Unit, National Women's Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
*
Child Development Unit, National Women's Hospital, Private Bag 92189, Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This study included two groups of 37 children, one of twins and the other singletons at 4 years of age. All subjects had birthweights under 1500 grams and individuals in the groups were matched for birth date, gender and birthweight. Except when parental socio-economic status was taken into account, no significant differences between twins and singletons were observed on any of the results of The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, nor were there any when the twins and singletons were divided into groups with birthweights < 1000 grams and 1000 to 1499 grams. When cognitive scores were analysed in relation to socio-economic status, there were significant differences in the whole population between subjects in the high and low socioeconomic status groups, with higher mean scores for the former. Comparison of the twins and singletons with parents in the lower socio-economic status group did not produce any significant differences but in the case of the upper socio-economic status group the singletons scored significantly better that the twins in Quantitative Reasoning and on the Composite Score. No significant differences were demonstrated in the clinical assessment of speech, language or behaviour. So far as general life considerations and health were concerned only one significant difference was found and this was for the number of siblings born subsequently, with more born in the singleton families. This study did not provide support for the view that singletons and twins differ significantly in the areas considered.

Keywords

TwinsVery low birthweight (VLBW)Cognitive developmentLanguageBehaviourSocio-economic status
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae: twin research , Volume 45 , Issue 3 , July 1996 , pp. 325 - 332
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1996

References

REFERENCES

1.Alin Akerman, B, Thomassen, PA (1992): The fate of “small twins”: A four-year follow-up study of low birthweight and prematurely born twins. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 41: 97–104.Google Scholar
2.De Kleine, M, Cuisinier, M, Kollée, L, Bethlehem, G, de Graauw, K (1995): Guidance after twin and singleton neonatal death. Arch Dis Child 36: F125–F126.Google Scholar
3.Elley, WB, Irving, JC (1985): The Elley-Irving Socio-Economic Index 1981 Census Revision. NZJ Ed Stud 20 (2): 129–139.Google Scholar
4.Hay, DA, Prior, M, Collett, S, Williams, M (1987): Speech and language development in preschool twins. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 36: 213–223.Google Scholar
5.Leonard, CH, Piecuch, RE, Ballard, RA, Cooper, BAB (1994): Outcome of very low birth weight infants: Multiple gestation versus singletons. Pediatr 93(4): 611–615.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.McDevitt, SC, Carey, WB (1978): The measurement of temperament in 3-7 ẏear old children. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 19: 245–253.Google Scholar
7.Morley, R, Cole, TJ, Powell, R, Lucas, A (1989): Growth and development in premature twins. Arch Dis Child 64: 1042–1045.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Niermeyer, S (1990): Twin neonates: Special Considerations. Clin Obst Gynecol 33 (1): 88–101.Google Scholar
9.Ornstein, M, Ohlsson, A, Edmonds, J, Asztalos, E (1991): Neonatal follow-up of very low birth-weight/extremely low birthweight infants to school age: a critical overview. Acta Paediatr 80 (8–9) 741–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Rauh, VA, Brennan, J: An interactionist perspective on interventions with lowbirthweight infants. In Friedman, S.L., & Sigman, M.D. (Eds.), Annual advances in applied developmental psychology 435–470. New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation 1992.Google Scholar
11.Thorndike, RL, Hagen, EP, Sattler, JM: The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition. Chicago: The Riverside Publishing Company 1986.Google Scholar
12.Wilson, RS (1983): The Louisville twin study: Developmental synchronies in behavior. Child Dev 54: 298–316.Google Scholar