Characteristics of study participants
| Group | p Value | 95% CI | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preterm (n=100) | Full-term (n=50) | |||
| Neonatal characteristics | ||||
| Gender (male) n (%) | 50 (50) | 20 (40) | 0.25 | – |
| Gestational age, weeks. M (SD) | 29.6 (2.4) | 39.9 (0.9) | <0.01 | −10.8 to −9.6 |
| Birth weight, grams. M (SD) | 1322 (434) | 3497 (495) | <0.01 | −2360 to −1990 |
| Single births n (%) | 68 (68) | 48 (96) | ||
| Twin births n (%) | 27 (27) | 2 (4) | ||
| Triplet births n (%) | 5 (5) | 0 | – | – |
| Parent characteristics | n=85 | n=49 | ||
| No. of children at home. Median (range)* | 2 (1–7) | 2 (0–5) | 0.67 | – |
| Ethnicity (Caucasian) n (%) | 77 (77) | 45 (90) | 0.30 | – |
| Marital status (married) n (%) | 89 (89) | 47 (94) | 0.27 | – |
| Maternal education, years. M (SD) | 15.9 (2.75) | 18.3 (4.28) | <0.01 | |
| Maternal age at delivery, years. Median (range) | 35 (19–42) | 33 (25–43) | 0.42 | – |
| Trait anxiety. M (SD) | 35.9 (9.28) | 34.2 (8.35) | 0.26 | −1.3 to 4.8 |
| Depression. Median (range) | 4.0 (0–44) | 3.0 (0–25) | 0.012 | – |
| Ways of coping (relative scores). M (SD) | ||||
| Confrontive | 0.119 (0.080) | 0.119 (0.085) | 0.97 | −0.029 to 0.028 |
| Distancing | 0.110 (0.078) | 0.108 (0.077) | 0.85 | −0.024 to 0.029 |
| Self-controlling | 0.143 (0.075) | 0.144 (0.079) | 0.94 | −0.027 to 0.025 |
| Seeking social support | 0.170 (0.075) | 0.165 (0.089) | 0.73 | −0.023 to 0.032 |
| Accepting responsibility | 0.091 (0.087) | 0.062 (0.084) | 0.059 | −0.001 to 0.058 |
| Escape/Avoidance | 0.065 (0.051) | 0.063 (0.046) | 0.86 | −0.016 to 0.019 |
| Planful problem solving | 0.188 (0.094) | 0.240 (0.125) | 0.005 | −0.088 to −0.016 |
| Positive reappraisal | 0.114 (0.070) | 0.098 (0.069) | 0.19 | −0.008 to 0.040 |
| Child characteristics | ||||
| WISC-IV FSIQ†. M (SD) | 100.7 (13.7) | 110.6 (12.0) | <0.001 | −14.4 to −5.3 |
| CBCL‡ internalising (T score). M (SD) | 51.9 (10.8) | 50.3 (10.7) | 0.40 | −2.1 to 5.2 |
| CBCL externalising (T score). M (SD) | 48.2 (10.9) | 47.9 (10.3) | 0.87 | −3.4 to 4.0 |
*No. of children at home at assessment, excluding the index child.
†Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children fourth edition full-scale IQ.
‡Child Behavior Checklist.