BEHAVIORAL-ADJUSTMENT IN VERY-LOW AND NORMAL BIRTH-WEIGHT CHILDREN

Examined behavioral adjustment and self-concept in very low birth weig ht (VLBW) children. Fifty-two 6-year-olds and forty-eight 9-year-olds born at weights under 1,500 g were compared with a full-term control g roup matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status. VLBW children wer e more likely than controls to exhibit learning problems, such as poor frustration tolerance and distractibility; to be rated as more consid erate and less aggressive at age 6; and be more anxious and withdrawn at age 9. Nine-year-old VLBW children also viewed themselves as less a cademically competent. In the VLBW sample, learning problems and socia l and academic competence were not generally associated with neonatal or demographic variables, but they were related to delays in visuomoto r integration.