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Parents of three groups of children completed the Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ). Participants were children with Down syndrome aged 4-11 years (n = 55), prematurely born children aged 5 years (n = 97), and a group of normally developing kindergarten children 5-7 years of age (n = 91). Mean levels and factor structures on the CBQ were compared between the three groups. The children with Down syndrome had less attentional focusing and expressed less inhibitory control and less sadness than the normally developing children. There were also group differences in temperament structures, especially a clearer emotional factor of "surgency" among the children with Down syndrome. The only significant difference in mean temperament scores between the premature children and the control group was that the former evinced less attentional focussing. The temperament structures in the Norwegian samples were very similar to those reported in earlier studies, conducted in China and the US.

BackgroundPreterm-born children are at increased risk of adverse developmental outcomes, and their parents may experience increased stress levels. The Mother–Infant Transaction Program (MITP) is an early intervention that aims to enhance the parent–infant relationship and child development. The present study investigated differences in parents’ experience of stress and concerns about caring for their preterm-born child according to whether they participated in the programme. Parental satisfaction with the intervention was also explored.MethodsAs part of a follow-up study at 36 months, a randomized controlled trial of the MITP—14 parents of 11 children from the intervention group, and 17 parents of 14 children from the control group were interviewed by the use of semi-structured focus group interviews. The interviews were analysed thematically.ResultsThe intervention parents reported that the knowledge, advice, guidance and emotional support given during the intervention made them feel less stressed and more confident, competent and secure caring for their preterm born child than they would otherwise have been. The control parents described feeling less involved and emotionally supported, and seemed more anxious about their child’s development than the intervention parents. All parents were vigilant and alert to their child’s needs and monitored developmental milestones carefully.ConclusionThis qualitative exploration of the influences of the MITP revealed a positive impact of the intervention and seems to be an important educational and supportive initiative. Thus, reducing parental stress and enhancing confidence in the parental role.

The hypothesis that attachment in adults is influenced by genetic factors was investigated. The within-pair differences in attachment representation in same-sex monozygotic and dizygotic twins were compared using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). The results showed a clear tendency toward monozygotic twins (n = 28) being more concordant than dizygotic twins (n = 13), but the within-pair similarity was also high in both zygosity groups. The results suggest, in behavior genetic terms, that heredity and shared environment may contribute to attachment status in adulthood. This differs from studies of attachment in infancy and early childhood, which report attachment to be explained mainly by shared environment, with minimal influence from genetic factors. Furthermore, the results showed that the distribution of the attachment pattern in twins had the same percentage distribution as reported for singletons. Consequently, there was no tendency toward more insecure attachment in twins than in singletons.