Alessandra Sansavini
Università di Bologna, Psychology, Faculty Member
As indicated by the World Health Organization, preterm birth is a relevant public health issue, being one of the leading causes of death in children under five years of age [...].
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Psychology, Cognitive Science, Language Acquisition, Risk, Language Development, and 24 moreNonverbal Communication, Linguistics, Gestures, Humans, Longitudinal Analysis, Female, Male, Comparative Analysis, STEM (short form), STEU (short form), Second Year, Risk factors, Questionnaires, Longitudinal Studies, Analysis of Variance, Neuropsychologia, Retrospective Studies, Age Factors, Risk Factors, Gestational Age, Preterm Birth, Neurosciences, Premature Birth, and Child preschool
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Research Interests:
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Background Extremely low and very low gestational age (ELGA and VLGA) constitutes a risk factor for development even in absence of cerebral damage, as an immature central nervous system is exposed to invasive and inadequate stimulation.... more
Background Extremely low and very low gestational age (ELGA and VLGA) constitutes a risk factor for development even in absence of cerebral damage, as an immature central nervous system is exposed to invasive and inadequate stimulation. We tested the hypothesis that GA impacts developmental outcomes and trajectories of preterms without major cerebral damage in the first 2 years of life, expecting poorer developmental outcomes and higher rate of impairment with the decreasing of GA. We also evaluated whether GA, together with developmental outcomes in the first year of life, was related to developmental outcomes at 24 months.Methods Eighty-eight infants, divided into three GA groups (ELGA: ≤28 weeks; VLGA: 29–32 weeks; full term: >37 weeks) were assessed longitudinally at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months using the Griffiths Mental Development Scales.Results Use of a repeated measure multivariate analysis of variance resulted in several significant findings. GA was associated with the developmental quotient (DQ) scores (P= 0.006); and locomotor (P < 0.001), eye and hand co-ordination (P= 0.016) and performance (P= 0.040) sub-scale quotient (SQ) scores; age of evaluation was also associated with DQ scores (P= 0.002), and locomotor (P < 0.001) and performance (P < 0.001) SQ scores. In particular, ELGAs exhibited lower DQ and SQ scores compared with the VLGA and full-term groups; some ELGAs showed mild, moderate or severe cognitive impairments, while few VLGAs mild impairments. Linear regression analysis showed that GA (P= 0.034) and 12-month developmental outcome (P < 0.001) were related to 24-month developmental outcome.Conclusions Different developmental trajectories emerged in relation to GA, with poorer developmental outcomes and higher rates of impairment in ELGAs and few mild impairments in VLGAs. The relevance of taking into account both GA and repeated assessments in the first 2 years of life was shown.
Research Interests:
Education, Child Development, Italy, Humans, Female, and 13 moreMale, Infant, Developmental disabilities, Risk factors, Longitudinal Studies, Analysis of Variance, Longitudinal Study, Cognitive Ability, Risk Factors, Gestational Age, Cognition disorders, Severity of Illness Index, and Child preschool
In three European regions (The Netherlands, Northern Italy and Southern Italy) we investigated whether mothers of healthy pre-term infants (n=92) adjust their expectations for the timing of developmental milestones in the first years of... more
In three European regions (The Netherlands, Northern Italy and Southern Italy) we investigated whether mothers of healthy pre-term infants (n=92) adjust their expectations for the timing of developmental milestones in the first years of life as compared to mothers of full-term infants (n=140). We examined whether these adjustments could be seen as reflecting a pessimistic view, as would be predicted from the ‘prematurity stereotype’ perspective. Partial corrections for prematurity were regularly made, but no indications were found for an overly pessimistic view. Moreover, the differences between the regions in the anticipated timing of mastery of milestones were larger than the effects of prematurity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Cognitive Science, Language Acquisition, Cognition, Language Impairment, Language disorders, and 16 moreItaly, Birth Weight, Humans, Female, Male, Risk factors, Clinical Sciences, Newborn Infant, Early human dispersal, Longitudinal Studies, Educational Status, Risk Factors, Indexation, Gestational Age, Preterm Birth, and Premature Birth
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This study sought to identify and compare the characteristics of the social pedagogic context of cognitive activities in a sample of early education settings in six European countries (England, Finland, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden).... more
This study sought to identify and compare the characteristics of the social pedagogic context of cognitive activities in a sample of early education settings in six European countries (England, Finland, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden). Previous research concerning the ...