Background: Children born preterm are at high risk of developmental delay in various cognitive domains. Moreover, problems in social interaction are more frequently reported in preterm children than in their full-term peers. These difficulties can be observed at two years of age and seem to persist until school age. Although closely linked to social acceptance, remarkably little research has focused on social-cognitive skills such as Theory of Mind in preterm children.
Aim: The aim of the current study was to assess Theory-of-Mind development in preterm (n = 34) and full-term (n = 38) children over the course of two years.
Methods: A Theory-of-Mind scale was administered at the children's age of 3, 4, and 5 years, and we additionally assessed and controlled for general cognitive development.
Results: At the age of 3, mean Theory-of-Mind scores were 1.23 (SD = 0.65) for preterm and 1.58 (SD = 0.76) for full-term children. By the age of 5, preterm children's performance (M = 3.50, SD = 1.16) was similar to that of full-term children (M = 3.52, SD = 0.98), revealing a significant interaction effect between birth status and time of measurement, F(1, 44.424) = 4.76, p = .035.
Conclusion: The interaction effect indicates that preterm children show a delay rather than a general deficit in Theory-of-Mind development. Mechanisms underlying this course of development are still unknown. To examine why problems in social interaction persist despite improving Theory-of-Mind abilities, future research should extend the focus to implicit mental reasoning in preterm children.
Keywords: Preterm birth; Social-cognitive skills; Theory of mind.
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