Writing skills and executive functions: What happens to low risk preterm children?

Abstract Most studies on executive functions and writing skills in preterm children were cross-sectional studies conducted with very and extremely preterm children. Studies adopting a longitudinal approach carried out with low-risk preterm children are, however, scarce. We studied 145 children from 4 to 9 years of age of which 111 were low-risk preterm participants with gestational ages ranging from 26 to 36 weeks and 34 were full-term children. The performance of both groups of children in different executive functions has been measured at 4, 5 and 8 years of age, and in writing skills at 9 years of age. Comparisons between both groups have been carried out. The effect of these executive functions on writing abilities has also been studied using multiple linear regression analyses. The findings of this study indicate that no significant difference has been found between preterm and full-term children in any of the executive functions measured, nor in writing skills. The effect of EFs on the explanation of spelling skills (syllable and pseudo-word dictation) which are not related to meaning is very low, with working memory and lack of inhibition being the only EFs which affect pseudo-word dictation. In contrast, several EFs verbal working memory, cognitive flexibility, conceptual ability and flexibility, as well as inhibitory control, have effects on those writing abilities which imply meaning and are cognitively more complex (word and phrase dictation and story structure). To conclude, low-risk preterm children do not seem to present problems in the development of executive functions or writing skills. Executive functions measured several years before still have an important influence on writing skills at age 9.