Development and validation of a parent-report measure for detection of cognitive delay in infancy.

AIM: To develop a brief, parent-completed instrument (ERIC - Early Report by Infant Caregivers) for detection of cognitive delay in 10- to 24-month-olds born preterm, or of low birthweight, or with perinatal complications, and to establish ERIC's diagnostic properties. METHOD: Scores for ERIC were collected from the parents of 317 children meeting ≥inclusion criterion (birthweight <1500 g, gestational age <34 completed weeks, 5 min Apgar score <7, or presence of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy) and no exclusion criteria. Children were assessed using a criterion score of below 80 on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III cognitive scale. Items were retained according to their individual associations with delay. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were estimated and a truncated ERIC was developed for use in children <14 months old. RESULTS: ERIC correctly detected developmental delay in 17 out of 18 children in the sample, with 94.4% sensitivity, 76.9% specificity, 19.8% positive predictive value, 99.6% negative predictive value, 4.09 likelihood ratio positive, and 0.07 likelihood ratio negative. INTERPRETATION: ERIC has potential value as a quickly administered diagnostic instrument for the absence of early cognitive delay in 10- to 24-month-old preterm infants and as a screen for cognitive delay.

Men's psychological transition to fatherhood: an analysis of the literature, 1989-2008.

BACKGROUND: The most recent review on men's transition to fatherhood was published in 1986. The present paper reports on how the literature has portrayed fatherhood over the past 20 years. The aim was to investigate men's psychological transition to fatherhood from pregnancy of the partner through the infant's first year of life. METHODS: The PsycINFO, PubMed, MEDLINE, Ingenta, Ovid, EMBASE, and WoS databases were accessed to conduct a literature search on the topic. The concepts of self-image transformation, triadic relationship development, and social environment influence were used to examine the complexity of the fatherhood transition process. Specific focus was placed on men's intrapsychic relational and social dimensions. RESULTS: Our analysis of the yielded results revealed three specific fatherhood stages: prenatal, labor and birth, and postnatal periods. Partner pregnancy was found to be the most demanding period in terms of psychological reorganization of the self. Labor and birth were the most intensely emotional moments, and the postnatal period was most influenced by environmental factors. The latter was also experienced as being the most interpersonally and intrapersonally challenging in terms of coping with the new reality of being a father. CONCLUSIONS: Men's transition to fatherhood is guided by the social context in which they live and work and by personal characteristics in interplay with the quality of the partner relationship. Men struggle to reconcile their personal and work-related needs with those of their new families.