Ricerc@Sapienza

Background and aim
In the last decades mild motor problems and specific cognitive difficulties without major deficits are the most
dominant neurodevelopmental sequelae in children born preterm. This study aimed to explore motor skills and
executive functions (EF) and their relationship in a group of preterm children 3- to 5-year old. In addition, we
considered the comparison between Very Preterm (VP), born equal or less than 32 gestational weeks (GW) and
Late Preterm (LP; 33-37 GW) children in each performance domain.
Method

Study Objectives: We aimed to compare 2-year-old children born preterm with children born full term regarding: (1) sleep characteristics, (2) temperament,
and (3) relations between sleep pattern and habits and temperament.
Methods: The study included 51 preterm children with normal cognitive, language, and motor development (mean = 20.94 months, standard deviation
[SD] = 4.08) and 57 full-term children (mean = 21.19, SD = 4.32). To assess sleep-related difficulties and habits and child temperament, mothers completed