Developmental psychology: Parent responsiveness and its role in neurocognitive and socioemotional development of one-year-old preterm infants

Abstract

Background. It has been demonstrated that preterm birth negatively affects the neurocognitive and socioemotional development of a child. It is therefore important to identify the factors that can decrease potential risks for atypical development in preterm infants. The social environment which surrounds a child is considered to be one such factor. We hypothesize that parent responsiveness positively influences the development of a preterm child. Objective. The purpose of this research is to reveal differences in the development of two one-year-old preterm children whose parents have exhibited opposite types of parent responsiveness. Design. Based on the analysis of video recordings of child-parent interactions, we identified two children whose parents registered opposite patterns of responsiveness. Parent responsiveness was measured based on Parent Responsiveness Markers Protocol methodology. The Bayley-III was used to assess the children's cognitive and socioemotional development. Results. We identified that the preterm child whose parent showed a high level of parental responsiveness had normative levels of neurocognitive development, socioemotional skills and adaptive behavior. The preterm child, whose parent showed a low level of parental responsiveness, scored lower on the Bayley-III. Conclusion. Preterm birth not only affects infant development, but also has a psychological impact on parents, evoking fear and anxiety for their child. This affects parental behavior and their responsiveness towards their child. This study showed that parent responsiveness has a positive effect on the neurocognitive and socioemotional development of a preterm child. Further research should focus on assessing the role of parent responsiveness in child development using a larger sample. © Lomonosov Moscow State University, 2019. Russian Psychological Society, 2019.