Behavioral Indicators of Microprematurity through the Lens of Mastery Motivation.

This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis between full term typical infants and those born micropremature in the developmental construct of mastery motivation. The sample consisted of 10 micropremature infants with developmental levels within the normal limits and 10 full term 9- to 12-month-olds (adjusted for prematurity) matched by age and gender. For the micropremature group, mean birth weight was 756.4 grams with a gestational age of 25.5 weeks. The average length of time on oxygen for the micropremature infants was 97.6 days. Two were reported to have retinopathy of prematurity, and one was reported to have a grade III intraventricular hemorrhage. Results indicated the full term groups demonstrated significantly more intervals of task persistence than the micropremature group in problem-solving tasks. Consistent with previous research, most infants did not show any pleasure or displeasure. However, a few infants exhibited high levels of task pleasure, which was observed more frequently in the full term group. The full term group also completed significantly more solutions in the problem-solving tasks that the micropremature group. For the micropremature group, there was a highly significant correlation in task persistence between the effect production and practicing sensorimotor skills task categories. Overheads explaining the study and the results are provided. (CR)