De Invloed van Sekse op de Ontwikkeling van Externaliserend Gedrag tussen Twee- en Vijfjarige Leeftijd bij Vroege Prematuren.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of gender on the development of externalising behaviour between the age of two and five in early premature children. In this study, the results of 81 premature children, born before 32 weeks of gestation, were analysed with a ‘Paired Samples t-test’ and a ‘regression analysis’. Results show that externalising behaviour decreases between de age of two and five. Externalising behaviour at the age of two appears to be a significant predictor for externalising behaviour at the age of five. There is no significantly difference in this predictor between boys and girls. From these findings, it could be concluded that externalising behaviour seems to decrease over time in early premature children. In accordance to the Dutch population, externalising behaviour at toddler age seems to be a predictor for later externalising behaviour, which means that this cohesion could be seen as universal. However, in contrast to the Dutch population, there seems to be no significantly differences between boys and girls in this finding. This is perhaps because premature boys with severe disabilities and a lager likelihood of externalising behaviour, are not include in the data. Therefore, in further research this group of boys has to be included.