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Material and Method: The PS test was developed to assess the child’s ability to arrange pictures into a sequence. It consisted of three conditions, which were daily activities, social interaction routines, and feeling expressions. Each story had four cartoon styles cards. The child had to rearrange picture cards into the correct sequence positions. Thirty preterm children aged five to six years with gestational ages of ≤32 weeks and birth weights of <1,500 grams, and thirty-five term children matched age, gender, child’s education, parental education, and socioeconomic status were performed the PS test. The total scores were compared between the preterm group and the term group.
Results: The PS test scores on the daily activities domain of the preterm and term group were 18 and 25 (p = 0.03), respectively. The scores on the social interaction routines domain of the preterm and term group were 20 and 28 (p = 0.01) and the scores on the feeling expression domain were 18.5 and 25 (p = 0.03), respectively. There was no significant correlation between perinatal complications and the PS test scores.
Conclusion: The preterm children with IQs in the average range showed impairment in sequencing ability compared with the term children. The results underline the need for follow-up care with more comprehensive assessment of EF.
Keywords: Preterm infants, Executive function (EF), Sequencing ability