Attention capacities of preterm and term born toddlers: A multi-method approach

•Attention capacities of moderate/late preterm and term toddlers were examined.•Preterm toddlers had lower scores than term children on orienting and alerting.•More preterm than term children had suboptimal scores on the alerting system.

ObjectiveMany preterm children show difficulties in attention at (pre)school age. The development of attention capacities of preterm and term toddlers was compared using a longitudinal and multi-method approach at 12, 18 and 24 months.MethodAttention was measured for 123 preterm (32–36 weeks gestation) and 101 term born children, using eye tracking (18 months), observations during mother–child interaction (18 months), and mother-reports (12, 18, and 24 months).ResultsPreterm toddlers had lower scores than term children on the eye-tracking measures of orienting and alerting. No group differences were found with observations, mother-reports, and the eye-tracking measure of executive attention. More preterm than term children had suboptimal scores on measures of the alerting system at 18 months, possibly indicating difficulties in attention development.ConclusionPreterm children showed an increased risk for suboptimal functioning in alerting attention capacities, as early as at a toddler age.