Gaze aversion during social interaction in preterm infants: a function of attention skills?

Preterm infants avert their gaze more often and for longer periods in early social interactions compared to full term infants. In previous studies this finding is interpreted as being a function of the higher degree of parental stimulation that is often found in parents of preterm children. The current study explores an additional hypothesis.

Preverbal skills as mediators for language outcome in preterm and full term children.

Language delay is a well documented problem that occurs on a higher rate in preterm children compared to full term children. Preverbal social skills, such as the ability to share attention to an object with another person (i.e.

Dyadic and triadic skills in preterm and full term infants: a longitudinal study in the first year.

This longitudinal study examined dyadic and triadic skills in 26 preterm and 31 full term infants at 3, 6 and 9 months of age. In dyadic interaction, infants engaged with a stranger in face-to-face play interrupted by a still-face episode. In triadic interaction, infants interacted with the adult stranger as she coordinated gaze between the infant and object.