Neuropsychological Sequelae of Perinatal Complications: A 6-Year Follow-Up

Abstract
Explored in a prospective follow-up study the neurobehavioral development of a group of 305 children with perinatal complications and a control group of 334 healthy children from a complete birth cohort. The at-risk children were divided in the neonatal days into two risk classes: mild risk (n = 254) and severe risk (n = 62). At the age of 6 years, the Florida Kindergarten Screening Battery and the Rapid Automatic Naming test were administered to the subjects, and ratings on the Child Behavior Checklist were obtained from the parents. Only severe perinatal complications were significantly related to problems in later cognitive and motor development. The detrimental effect of low educational level of the mother was emphasized. The results are discussed in terms of a transactional versus main-effects model of development.