Child genotype is an important biologically based individual difference conferring differential sensitivity to the effect of parental behavior. This study explored dopaminergic polygenic composite×parental behavior interactions in relation to young children’s executive function. Participants were 135 36-month-old children and their mothers drawn from a prospective cohort followed longitudinally from pregnancy. A polygenic composite was created based on the number ofCOMT, DAT1,DRD2, andDRD4alleles associated with increased reward sensitivity children carried. Maternal negative reactivity and responsiveness were coded during a series of structured mother–child interactions. Executive function was operationalized as self-control and working memory/inhibitory control. Path analysis supported a polygenic composite by negative reactivity interaction for self-control. The nature of the interaction was one of diathesis-stress, such that higher negative reactivity was associated with poorer self-control for children with higher polygenic composite scores. This result suggests that children with a higher number of alleles may be more vulnerable to the negative effect of negative reactivity. Negative reactivity may increase the risk for developing behavior problems in this population via an association with poorer self-control. Due to the small sample size, these initial findings should be treated with caution until they are replicated in a larger independent sample.

The aims of this study were to identify the aspects of school readiness that best distinguish very preterm (VPT) preschoolers from full-term (FT) controls, determine the extent to which readiness problems in the VPT group reflected global cognitive weaknesses or more specific deficits, and identify distinct profiles of readiness problems. Fifty-three VPT (gestational age ≤ 30 weeks) 4-year-olds were compared to 38 FT (gestational age ≥ 37 weeks) controls on measures of global cognitive ability, executive function, motor skills, early literacy and numeracy, and psychosocial functioning. Latent class analysis (LCA) was also conducted to identify individual readiness profiles. The VPT group had the most pronounced difficulties on tests of spatial and nonverbal cognitive abilities, executive function, motor skills, phonological processing, and numeracy. The VPT group also had sex-related difficulties in processing speed, social functioning, and emotion regulation. These differences were evident in analyses of both continuous scores and rates of deficits. The VPT group’s difficulties in motor skills, and VPT females’ difficulties in social functioning and emotion regulation, were evident even when controlling for global cognitive ability. LCA suggested four profiles of readiness, with the majority of the VPT group assigned to profiles characterized by relative weaknesses in either cognitive abilities or psychosocial functioning or by more global readiness problems. The findings support the need to evaluate multiple aspects of school readiness in VPT preschoolers and inform efforts to design more targeted early educational interventions.

This study examined the remote learning activities children born very preterm (VPT; gestational age ≤ 30 weeks) received, compared with children born full term (FT; gestational age ≥ 37 weeks), during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents of 5- to 6-year-olds born VPT ( n = 33) and FT ( n = 33) reported on the provision, frequency, and duration of teacher-provided live instruction, educational materials, and homework; and parent-provided educational materials. More kindergarten children born VPT received small group instruction and fewer received large group instruction than FT children. Preschoolers born VPT engaged in parent-provided learning apps, educational videos, and reading activities less frequently or for shorter durations than FT children. Findings suggest that while teachers generally implemented remote learning similarly for children born VPT and FT, parents did not. Children born VPT are at higher risk for educational problems and may benefit from more intensive school- and home-based educational interventions to help offset the impact of school closures.