The article by the University of Warwick (2020) highlights that children who are born with smaller head circumference and subsequent poor head growth have a lower intelligence quotient (IQ). People also who are born small for gestational age (SGA), that is, below 32 weeks of the gestation period, experienced lower IQ throughout their development. The key psychological concept used is ‘small for gestation age' (SGA), which refers to babies born before they attain the required gestation period. However, those who are born at an appropriate gestation period experience reduction in IQ at adulthood. The effects of SGA are intense among children who receive poor parenting at infancy and those from the low socio-economic environment. According to research involving 203 children born below 32 weeks of the gestation period, the University of Warwick (2020) found that such children had lower IQ by 16 points compared to term-born babies. The article concluded that pre-term children with poor parent-relationship had negative effects on IQ. University of Warwick (2020) recommends that such children need extra intervention to avoid further jeopardizing their cognitive development. The problem is further escalated by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that most parents’ experiences when their children are born prematurely. The problem leads to deterioration in the intelligence development of the baby because PTSD causes difficulties in parent-child interaction.
A Longitudinal Study by Helene et al., (2019) shows that linkage between IQ development and gestation period in children exists. The study assessed the effects of PTSD symptoms due to premature birth on intellectual abilities in their children. The assessment was based on 21 full-term children and 33 very pre-term babies ( Hélène et al., 2019) . The assessment of maternal PTSD was done when the children were eighteen months ( Hélène et al., 2019) . The intelligence quotient for children was measured when they were 11 years old. The research findings showed that lower PTSD among mothers who had full-term gestation periods resulted in a high IQ. The reporting of results by Hélène et al. (2019) was in agreement with research news since it was tabulated based on neonatal data, socio-demographic and Perinatal Posttraumatic stress Questionnaires (PPQ). However, IQ was lower for children born pre-term since the rate of PTSD experienced by their mothers was high leading to poor child-mother interaction.
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References
Hélène, T., Sébastien, U., François, A., Ayala, B., Murray, M. M., & Müller-Nix, C. (2019). The interplay between prematurity, maternal stress and children’s intelligence quotient at age 11: A longitudinal study. Scientific Reports (Nature Publisher Group) , 9 (1). https://doi.org.10.1038/s s41598-018-36465-2
University of Warwick. (2020, June 15). Intelligence is impacted if born small for gestational age. ScienceDaily . Retrieved June 25, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200615115756.htm
