Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics: Parenting
51 - Parenting characteristics and social factors contribute to sensory adaptation of former preterm infants
Saturday, April 23, 2022
3:30 PM – 6:00 PM US MT
Poster Number: 51 Publication Number: 51.203
Mary Lauren M. Neel, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States; Sara Conroy, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, United States; Rachelle Srinivas, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Dublin, OH, United States; Nathalie maitre, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
Assistant Professor Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus, Ohio, United States
Background: Preterm-born children have atypical multisensory integration at term and sensory adaptation challenges in the home. Abnormal sensory modulation is then associated with worse long-term behavioral, cognitive and motor outcomes than for sensory-typical peers.
Objective: To characterize associations between children’s intrinsic sensory neurological threshold (NT) and their behavioral response (BR) to this threshold (active vs passive), and examine how medical, social, and parenting factors contribute to behavioral adaptation in 1-year-old former preterm children.
Design/Methods: This prospective cohort study included 74 former preterm children tested at 1-year corrected age. NT (intrinsic excitability to sensory stimuli) and BR in the home were characterized using the Infant Toddler Sensory Profile. NT ranged low to high, and BR from passive to active on continua. Parenting factors were attunement and structure as quantified by the Baby Care Questionnaire and authoritarian and permissive style by the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire. Linear regression models estimated change in BR associated with 1 unit NT change, and proportion of variance explained by hypothesized factors. Unadjusted models used only NT to predict the outcome (BR score). Stepwise models included NT + medical factors (gestational age and white matter injury) + social factors (maternal age and maternal education) + parenting factors.
Results: Unadjusted and adjusted models revealed strong associations between BR and intrinsic NT. NT explained 36-67% of variance in active and 23-79% variance in passive BR scores. Addition of other medical, social, and parenting variables increased the proportion of model variance to 35-74% for the active and to 20-83% for the passive BR. Adding social factors to the model increased the proportion of variance explained over NT + medical factors (high NT/active response, p =0.001; low NT/active response, p=0.037; low NT/passive response, p =0.009). Post-hoc regressions showed adding parenting characteristics also improved the models (high NT/active response, p =0.029; low NT/active response, p=0.038; low NT/passive response, p =0.033).Conclusion(s): Maternal and parenting characteristics contribute to how former preterm infants adapt their behaviors to their intrinsic ability to process home sensory experiences. Parenting interventions might successfully target the high prevalence of atypical behaviors exhibited by former preterm infants to their sensory environment. Table 1 Cohort medical & social characteristics & questionnaire scoresBCQ: Baby Care Questionnaire; PSDQ: Parenting Styles & Dimensions Questionnaire; ITSP: Infant Toddler Sensory Profile Table 2 Estimated mean change (95% CI) of behavioral response (active or passive) per unit increase in high or low neurological threshold scoreBCQ: Baby Care Questionnaire; PSDQ: Parenting Styles & Dimensions Questionnaire; ITSP: Infant Toddler Sensory Profile.