Browsing by Author "Molteno, Gillian"
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- ItemIntellectual, cognitive and academic outcomes of very low birth weight adolescents living in disadvantaged communities(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004-12) Molteno, Gillian; Engelbrecht, P.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Educational Psychology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since the introduction of neonatal intensive care, infants that are extremely premature and of very low birth weight (VLBW) are now surviving. There is concern as to whether many of them have developmental problems. A study of the relevant literature revealed that VLBW children tend to score lower than their peers on IQ tests, reading accuracy, reading comprehension, spelling and maths. Studies on developmental outcome in VLBW infants have all been conducted in developed countries. The situation in developing countries has therefore not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the intellectual, cognitive and academic outcomes of 18 English- and Afrikaans-speaking adolescents (between 12 and 14 years) who weighed less than 1250g at birth and were living in disadvantaged communities in Cape Town. Their performance was compared with controls matched for age, sex and socio-economic status. The relationships between intellectual ability, cognitive controls and academic achievement were also investigated. Intellectual ability was assessed by means of the Senior South African Intelligence Scales-Revised (SSAIS-R), and the Cognitive Control Battery (CCB) developed by Santostefano was used to assess cognitive functioning. The academic achievement tests included the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability (and the Afrikaans version, the Afrikaanse Prosaleestoets), the ICE Spelling test (and the Afrikaans version, the IPV Speltoets) and the SchonelI 5 Mathematics test. Results showed that no significant differences were found between the index and control groups on IQ scores, cognitive control measures or academic achievement. These findings suggest that the low socio-economic status of all the adolescents had a levelling effect on their performance. There were some positive correlations between intellectual ability, cognitive controls and academic achievement. It was recommended that a programme of Cognitive Control Therapy which was developed by Santostefano, be implemented by educators in classrooms to improve cognitive control functioning and academic performance.