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Developmental Outcomes, Attachment and Parenting: Study of a Sample of Spanish Premature Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2018

Purificación Sierra-García ,
María López-Maestro ,
María José Torres-Valdivieso ,
Celia Díaz-González ,
Miguel Carrasco ,
Susana Ares-Segura ,
Gonzalo Duque de Blas  and
Carmen Pallás-Alonso
Purificación Sierra-García
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
María López-Maestro
Affiliation:
Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre (Spain)
María José Torres-Valdivieso
Affiliation:
Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre (Spain)
Celia Díaz-González
Affiliation:
Hospital Universitario La Paz (Spain)
Miguel Carrasco
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
Susana Ares-Segura
Affiliation:
Hospital Universitario La Paz (Spain)
Gonzalo Duque de Blas*
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
Carmen Pallás-Alonso
Affiliation:
Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Gonzalo Duque de Blas. Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia. Development and Educational Psychology. 28040 Madrid (Spain). E-mail: gduque@psi.uned.es
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Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the development of premature children, including attachment, child psychological adjustment and parental variables. 130 children < 1,500 g or < 32 weeks at birth from two public hospitals, assessed at two years corrected age, together with their parents. Parental socio-demographic data was collected. Infant development, attachment and child psychological adjustment were evaluated, as was parental stress. The percentage of preterm children with developmental delays ranged from 5% to 21%. Girls tend to show higher levels of development than boys with effect sizes ranging from small, η2p = .02, to medium, η2p = .07. Secure attachment was the most frequent pattern in the sample. No significant differences, p < .05, between preterm children and the normative population were found on children´s behavioral problems and maternal stress levels. Despite the fact prematurity is considered to be a risk factor for a child´s development, a significant proportion of these children do not show problems in terms of developmental levels, attachment pattern and maternal stress. However, socio-emotional and affective domains, as well as psychological support programs for parenthood, should be followed up from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Keywords

attachmentdevelopmentparentingprematurity
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 21 , 2018 , E20
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2018 

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Footnotes

How to cite this article:

Sierra-García, P., López-Maestro, M., Torres-Valdivieso, M. J., Díaz-González, C., Carrasco, M., Ares-Segura, S., … Pallás-Alonso, C. (2017). Developmental outcomes, attachment and parenting: Study of a sample of Spanish premature children. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 21. e20. Doi:10.1017/sjp.2018.22

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