Is temperament associated with academic school readiness in children born very preterm?

Research Findings: Temperament, which can be assessed as early as three months, is associated with school readiness and later academic achievement in children born full term. Although children born preterm demonstrate a dysregulated temperament and are at significant risk for lower school readiness, we found no studies investigating whether early temperament is associated with school readiness in this at-risk population. Investigating whether temperament is a precursor of academic risk in preterm children can facilitate early identification and possible intervention efforts. We explored the association of negative affect, surgency, and regulation/effortful control temperament ratings collected at 3-months and 3-years corrected ages with school readiness at 3-years corrected age in children born very preterm. Participants included 297 children born very preterm (53.9% male). After controlling for key covariates, Positive Affectivity/Surgency ratings at 3-months were significantly associated with the Bracken Basic Concept Scale - School Readiness composite score, and Effortful Control ratings at 3-years were associated with Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Third Edition (ABAS-3) Functional Pre-Academics ratings.

Practice Or Policy: These findings may enhance the ability to identify premature children at risk for difficulties at school entry early.