1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«In this study, we aim to investigate the influence of birth weight and environmental variables, such as maternal perceived parental bonding to her own parents, on the children’s temperament and behavior at 18 months of age.» (p. 242)

Hypothèse :
«Our hypothesis is that children with SGA have greater susceptibility to the transgenerational effects of poor parental care received by the mother during her infancy.» (p. 242)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The study sample included [305] 3-year-old children from the cities of Montreal, Quebec and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.» (p. 242)

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«The main finding of this study was that fetal growth interacts with the perceived maternal care reported by the mother (PBI) and affects attentional skills at 18 months of age. In other words, there was a transgenerational effect of maternal care, affecting attention skills of the grandchildren. […] Importantly, as the pattern of maternal care seems to be persistent across generations, we infer that the mothers who reported low maternal care were also poorer caregivers.» (p. 244) «In sum, our study shows that fetal growth interacts with the quality of the maternal care received by the mother during her infancy and confers vulnerability to attentional problems at 18 months of age. Because the prevalence of intra-uterine growth restriction has remained considerably stable, at approximately 10% of the population, this study may be of importance for child health support and counseling of these families.» (p. 245)