The Natural History of 1008 Infants in the Readiness Years. A Final Report to the National Institute of Education.

Compared longitudinally were effects of biological risk and social influences on the physical, psychomotoric, cognitive-linguistic, disability, adjustment, and academic domains of 1,008 children at eight stages between 3 and 6 1/2 years of age. Over 20 tests such as physical measurements and the Preschool Attainment Record (PAR) were used. Some of the results showed that in the physical domain perinatal risk affected criterion performance then disappeared by 44 months; that in the psychomotor domain no perinatal risk data were present after 36 months, although social class effects were evident from 36 months on; that in the cognitive domain perinatal risk influenced scores of tests such as the PAR communication measure at 36 months then disappeared, whereas social class effects were significant; that high verbal attainment emerged early, established a trend by 4 years of age, and correlated with maternal permissiveness, high educational level, and favored (white rather than black)status; and that low verbal attainment established more slowly and correlated with opposite findings. The results had implications for intervention before 3 years of age and identification of potential for school success or failure. Results of findings on seven disability states of 810 children, 4 years of age, indicated no or low incidence of hearing and visual impairment for both low and high perinatal risk groups, and higher incidence of speech and behavior disorders, and experiential deprivation in the high risk group than the unexpectedly high incidence in the low risk group. (MC)