Perinatal Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Temperament in 3 to 24-Month-Old Infants Born Preterm and Full-Term

Children born preterm (PT) are at risk of encountering social-emotional difficulties. Risk and protective factors, such as caregiver characteristics and environmental influences, are related to the social-emotional development of children born PT. Understanding these factors helps to identify children at risk and offer targeted interventions. The study aims to explore risk and protective factors in the medical and psychological domain for the social-emotional development of children born PT by focusing on the temperament dimensions of positive affectivity/surgency, negative emotionality, and orienting/regulatory capacity. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate whether birth status (PT vs. full-term (FT)) moderates the relationship between risk and protective factors and social-emotional development. Participants will be caregivers of about 300 to 600 children born PT and FT at the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. The children will be between 3 months and 2 years old. Data will be collected longitudinally via the kleineWeltentdecker App (name of a new version: Pebbles App) and online questionnaires. Medical records of the participants will be screened for further risk and protective factors. unknown other