Pérez-Pereira Miguel, Arce Constantino, Ogneva Anastasiia
Institute of Psychology, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Children (Basel). 2025 Jul 31;12(8):1011. doi: 10.3390/children12081011.
Previous research with extremely and very preterm children indicates that these children obtain significantly lower results in executive functions (EFs) and in reading skills than full-term (FT) children. The comparison results do not seem to be so clear when other PT children in lower-risk conditions are studied. Many studies with typically developing and preterm (PT) children indicate that reading ability is determined, in part, by EFs. Therefore, the study of EFs and reading and their relationships in low-risk PT children is pertinent. In the present study, 111 PT children, classified into three groups with different ranges of gestational age (GA), and one group of 34 FT children participated in a longitudinal study, carried out from 4 to 9 years of age. The results obtained from the four groups in different EFs measured at 4, 5, and 8 years of age, and in reading skills at 9 years of age were compared. The possible effects of EFs on reading skills were studied through multiple linear regression analyses. The results obtained indicate that no significant difference was found between FT children and any of the GA groups of PT children, either in EFs or reading skills. The effect of EFs on reading skills was low to moderate. Verbal and non-verbal working memory had a positive significant effect on decoding skills (letter names, same-different, and word reading), but not on reading comprehension processes. Higher-order EFs (cognitive flexibility and planning), as well as inhibitory control, showed positive effects on reading comprehension skills. The effects of the different EFs varied depending on the reading process. In conclusion, low-risk PT children do not differ from FT children in their competence in EFs or reading skills. There are long-lasting effects of EFs, measured several years before, on reading skills measured at 9 years of age.
先前针对极早产儿和超早产儿的研究表明，与足月儿相比，这些儿童在执行功能（EFs）和阅读技能方面的表现明显更低。在研究其他低风险状况的早产儿（PT）时，比较结果似乎并不那么清晰。许多针对发育正常儿童和早产儿（PT）的研究表明，阅读能力部分由执行功能决定。因此，研究低风险早产儿的执行功能与阅读及其关系是有意义的。在本研究中，111名根据不同孕周（GA）范围分为三组的早产儿和一组34名足月儿参与了一项从4岁至9岁进行的纵向研究。比较了四组在4岁、5岁和8岁时测量的不同执行功能以及在9岁时的阅读技能方面所获得的结果。通过多元线性回归分析研究了执行功能对阅读技能的可能影响。所获得的结果表明，在执行功能或阅读技能方面，足月儿与任何一组孕周的早产儿之间均未发现显著差异。执行功能对阅读技能的影响为低到中等。言语和非言语工作记忆对解码技能（字母名称、异同判断和单词阅读）有显著的积极影响，但对阅读理解过程没有影响。高阶执行功能（认知灵活性和计划）以及抑制控制对阅读理解技能有积极影响。不同执行功能的影响因阅读过程而异。总之，低风险早产儿在执行功能或阅读技能方面的能力与足月儿没有差异。在9岁时测量的阅读技能受到数年前测量的执行功能的长期影响。
