Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Tokyo, Japan.
J Epidemiol. 2010;20 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):S452-8. doi: 10.2188/jea.je20090177. Epub 2010 Feb 23.
Little is known about how contributing factors of development change during early childhood in Japan. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that contributed to the developmental attainment of children between 9 and 18 months of age using prospective longitudinal data from a developmental cohort study.
We used data from observations at 3 time points (at infant age of 4, 9 and 18 months) in the Japan Children's Study. Mothers were administered questionnaires that requested information about their child's perinatal outcomes, temperament, family structure, family income, parental education, parenting stress, and child-rearing environment at home. At 9 and 18 months, mothers completed the Kinder Infant Development Scale to evaluate their child's development.
A total of 284 children were available for analysis. Female children and children having siblings had higher probability of attaining developmental norms at 18 months than male and only children. Birth weight, gestational age, and temperament were associated with development at 9 months, but the effects of gestational age and temperament on development disappeared at 18 months. Stimulation from the mother at 9 months was not only related to development at that age but also promoted development at 18 months.
Our findings suggest that the role of family environmental factors such as early mother's stimulation and sibling's existence in development during early childhood might become more important as the child gets older.
关于日本儿童在幼儿期发展的促成因素是如何变化的，目前知之甚少。本研究的目的是使用发展队列研究的前瞻性纵向数据，调查 9 至 18 个月儿童发展的促成因素。
我们使用了日本儿童研究中 3 个时间点（婴儿 4、9 和 18 个月时）观察的数据。母亲填写了问卷，内容包括孩子围产期结局、气质、家庭结构、家庭收入、父母教育程度、育儿压力和家庭育儿环境。在 9 个月和 18 个月时，母亲完成了 Kinder Infant Development Scale 评估孩子的发育情况。
共有 284 名儿童可用于分析。与男性和独生子女相比，女婴和有兄弟姐妹的婴儿在 18 个月时达到发育正常的可能性更高。出生体重、胎龄和气质与 9 个月时的发育有关，但胎龄和气质对 18 个月时发育的影响消失了。9 个月时母亲的刺激不仅与该年龄的发育有关，而且还促进了 18 个月时的发育。
我们的研究结果表明，家庭环境因素（如早期母亲的刺激和兄弟姐妹的存在）在儿童早期发育中的作用可能随着儿童年龄的增长变得更加重要。
