| dc.description.abstract | Background: Preterm birth increases the risks of adverse cognitive, motor, and social development. It also increases the risks of impaired parent-child emotional co-regulation (mutual interactions). This study explored whether preterm birth is associated with lower dyadic emotional co-regulation and suboptimal neurodevelopment. Additionally, the association between dyadic emotional co-regulation and neurodevelopmental outcomes was determined.
Methods: 49 preterm infants and their parents were recruited through opportunity sampling. Data were collected from obstetric records, amnestic questionnaires, the universal Welch Emotional Connection Screen (uWECS), and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID). Five a-priori-defined linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between gestational age (GA), dyadic emotional co-regulation, and neurodevelopment. Mother’s schooling, language barriers, infant biological sex, and age at BSID assessment functioned as control variables.
Results: Higher GA was positively associated with motor development (B=1.32, SE=0.60, β=0.30, p=0.034), explaining 9.2% of motor score variance, but did not predict cognitive development. Emotional connection scores showed a marginally positive association with motor development (B=2.85, SE=1.46, β=0.27, p=0.057), but no significant link to cognitive development. No association was found between GA and emotional connection scores.
Conclusions: The significant association between GA and motor development supports that preterm infants are at risk for less optimal neurodevelopment. The marginally significant association between dyadic emotional connection and Bayley motor standard scores also supports a potential link between low emotional co-regulation and less optimal neurodevelopment. Further research with larger samples is needed to explore the dynamic interplay between dyadic emotional co-regulation and neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants. | |
