The Relationship of Parental Knowledge to the Development of Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants

This study examined the relationship between parental experience, parental knowledge, and the development of extremely low birth weight infants. The subjects (N = 40) were extremely high-risk infants averaging 1000.0 grams birthweight and 28.1 weeks gestational age. The study found that mothers of preterm infants called upon the same types of experiences and sources of information about infancy as mothers of full-term infants. Further, ratings of maternal accuracy on the Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory accounted for 13% to 15% of the variation on the Mental Development Index (MDI) and Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 8 months corrected age. The infants of mothers with greater than average knowledge about infancy scored approximately one standard deviation higher on both the MDI and the PDI than did the infants of mothers who had less than average knowledge about Infancy. Implications for intervention are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67695/2/10.1177_105381519201600302.pd

Crianças com e sem síndrome de Down: valores e crenças de pais e professores Children with and without Down syndrome: parental and teacher values and beliefs

Os valores e as crenças de pais e professores permeiam as práticas de cuidados e socialização das crianças e se expressam nas atividades rotineiras em que elas se engajam com seus diversos cuidadores. Este estudo descreve os valores e as crenças de 10 famílias e 10 professoras a respeito dos seguintes aspectos do desenvolvimento de crianças com e sem síndrome de Down: desenvolvimento motor, escolarização, profissionalização, relações íntimas e expectativas quanto ao futuro. As famílias eram compostas por pai, mãe e filhos, sendo que, em cinco delas, havia uma criança com síndrome de Down e, nas outras cinco, todas as crianças tinham desenvolvimento típico. Os dados foram coletados na residência das famílias, tendo sido realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com os genitores e aplicado um questionário de caracterização do sistema familiar. Já as professoras foram entrevistadas no próprio local de trabalho. Os resultados mostraram diferenças nos valores e crenças relatados pelos genitores de crianças com e sem síndrome de Down, especialmente no que se refere ao desenvolvimento motor do filho. As professoras relataram mudanças no desempenho acadêmico das crianças, bem como em seus relacionamentos sociais. Enquanto as professoras do ensino especial esperam progressos nos resultados acadêmicos, em longo prazo, as professoras do ensino regular esperam resultados mais imediatos de suas crianças com desenvolvimento típico. Os dados indicam algumas similaridades entre as crenças de pais e professoras, as quais acreditam que o apoio e o envolvimento da família podem propiciar à criança com síndrome de Down os avanços necessários ao seu desenvolvimento.<br>Parental and teacher values and beliefs permeate the care and socialization practices of children and are expressed in the daily activities that children engage in with their various caretakers. This study describes the values and beliefs of 10 families and 10 teachers in relation to some aspects of the development of children with and without Down syndrome, such as motor development, academic performance, preparation for work, social and intimate relationships and expectation for the future. The families were composed of both parents and their offspring; five families had one child with Down syndrome and the other five had all children with typical development. The data were collected in the families' homes and the parents participated in semi-structured interviews and answered a questionnaire about the characterization of the family system. The teachers were interviewed in their workplace. The results showed some differences in the values and beliefs reported by the parents of children with and without Down syndrome, particularly in relation to the child's motor development. The teachers reported changes in the children's academic performance as well as in their social relationships. While the teachers of children with special educational needs expect long-term academic performance advances from the children with Down syndrome, the teachers of children with typical development expect more immediate advances from them. The results indicate some similarities between the parents' and the teachers' beliefs; both groups understand that family support and involvement is crucial to the development of the children with Down syndrome