Social Cognition in Children Born Preterm: A Perspective on Future Research Directions

Abstract

Preterm birth is a major risk factor for children’s development. It affects children’s cognitive and intellectual development and is related to impairments in IQ, executive functions, and well-being, with these problems persisting into adulthood. While preterm children’s intellectual and cognitive development has been studied in detail, their social development and social-cognitive competencies have received less attention. Namely, preterm children show problems in interactions with others. These interaction problems are present in relationships with parents, teachers, and peers. Parents’ behavior has been identified as a possible mediator of children’s social behavior. Maternal sensitivity and responsiveness as well as absence of mental disorders foster children’s social development. In this article, we will report on the social side of impairments that preterm children face. The review of the literature revealed that preterm infants’ joint attention abilities are impaired: They are less likely to initiate joint attention with others and to respond to others’ efforts to engage in joint attention. These deficits in joint attention might contribute to later impairments in social cognition, which in turn might affect social interaction skills. Based on these three domains (i.e., problems in social interaction, parental behavior, and impairments in joint attention), we suggest that preterm children’s social cognitive abilities should be investigated more intensively.

Maternal Mentalization and Behavior Under Stressful Contexts: The Moderating Roles of Prematurity and Household Chaos

“…Prematurity as a child-driven stressful context. Premature birth (i.e., <37 weeks of gestation) is considered to be a biological risk factor for the child's cognitive and social development (e.g., De Schuymer, De Groote, Desoete, & Roeyers, 2012;Zmyj, Witt, Weitk€ amper, Neumann, & L€ ucke, 2017). Parents of infants born preterm are at risk as well.…”

Physical Fitness Level Is Related to Attention and Concentration in Adolescents

“…For example, positive relationships have been observed at early ages between regular or acute physical activity with cognitive abilities such as attention, concentration, memory, working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control or processing speed (Best, 2010;Tomporowski et al, 2011;Scudder et al, 2014;Li et al, 2017). These findings are especially relevant in stages such as childhood or adolescence, because an appropriate cognitive development would help to a better psychosocial adjustment and adaptation to the environment, as well as good mental health and a higher quality of life (Costigan et al, 2016;Santana et al, 2017;Zmyj et al, 2017).…”

Physical Exercise, Fitness, Cognitive Functioning, and Psychosocial Variables in an Adolescent Sample

“…These findings have a great impact on adolescence because of their consequences on the development of children and adolescents. In fact, adequate cognitive functioning is considered to allow for better psychosocial adjustment at these ages, facilitating adaptation to the environment and contributing to greater success in multiple academic or social tasks [26][27][28][29].…”

“…On the other hand, the regular practice of physical and sporting activity, carried out in appropriate social contexts, has been positively associated with other psychological parameters that could also have a favorable impact on child and adolescent development [26][27][28][29][30]. Thus, physical exercise usually occurs in environments that require the development of psychosocial skills necessary to function properly in them, which facilitates their training and learning, while contributing to interpersonal bonds or to the development of personal and social identity [2,26,31,32].…”