EFFECTS OF INTRAVENTRICULAR HEMORRHAGE ON DEVELOPMENT

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted From The Applicant's Abstract) The long-term objective of the proposed study is an understanding of the developmental outcome of low birthweight infants who have intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). Associated medical, demographic and environmental variables will be considered. This is a continuation of a project in which 264 subjects have been repeatedly assessed from birth through 3 years of age. The aims of the present proposal are: 1) to complete the data collection and analyses originally planned; and 2) to extend the follow-up to school age in light of the evidence that low birthweight children tend to develop learning disabilities. The specific aims are to determine: 1) the significance of the interaction between the subject's neonatal status and physical-social environment to specific developmental out-comes; 2) whether the environment has a greater impact on certain developmental functions than others; 3) whether specific functional outcomes are related to the locus of the hemorrhage; 4) whether severity and timing of the insult relates to specific outcomes; 5) whether subjects who show gross deficits at early ages continue to show severe problems at school age; 6) whether early deficits are still apparent at school age; 7) if subjects who appear normal at early ages show learning disabilities at school age; and 8) if environmental variables mediate school-age outcomes. In addition to continuing to collect, code, computerize and analyze the 3-year follow-up data, measures of school performance and ability, as well as family and home environment factors will be collected when the subjects are in the first grade. A variety of analytic techniques, including multivariate analysis of covariance with and without repeated measures, individual growth curve analyses and multiple logistic regression, will be used to address the research questions.