Early parenting behaviour is associated with complex attention outcomes in middle to late childhood in children born very preterm

ABSTRACT

Attention deficits are common in children born very preterm (VP), especially for children with higher social risk. The aim of this study was to examine the association between parenting behavior and attention in children born VP, and whether this association is influenced by familial social risk. Two hundred and twenty-four children born <30 weeks’ gestation and/or with a birth weight <1250 g were recruited at birth. At 2 years, social risk was calculated and parenting behaviors were observed during a parent-child interaction task, with children’s attention skills assessed at 7 and 13 years using standardized assessments. Higher levels of sensitive parenting at 2 years were positively associated with divided attention at age 7 years, and higher levels of intrusive parenting were negatively associated with divided attention at 13 years. Children born VP with higher social risk were more positively influenced by sensitive parenting behavior for sustained attention at 7 years, selective attention at 13 years, and divided attention at 7 and 13 years than children born VP with lower social risk. Additionally, children born VP with higher social risk were more negatively influenced by intrusive parenting for sustained attention outcomes at 7 years than those with lower social risk. In summary, the evidence for a contribution of early parenting to attention outcomes in children born VP was stronger for more complex attention (divided attention) compared with basic attention domains. Our findings also suggest that early parenting behavior has a particular influence on children born VP from socially disadvantaged environments for attention outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Preterm birth
• attention
• parent-child interaction
• social risk

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2022.2075334.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Council (Centre for Research Excellence 1060733; Project grants 237117, 491209, 1066555; Senior Research Fellowship (1081288 to PJA); Leadership Fellowship (1176077 to PJA); Career Development Fellowships (1141354 to JLYC, 1127984 to KJL); the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne; and the Victorian Government’s Operational Infrastructure Support Program. RNB and SEC were supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.