Effects of maternal sensitivity on low birth weight children's academic achievement: a test of differential susceptibility versus diathesis stress

BackgroundDifferential Susceptibility Theory (DST) postulates that some children are more affected - for better and for worse - by developmental experiences, including parenting, than others. Low birth weight (LBW, 1,500-2,499g) may not only be a predictor for neurodevelopmental impairment but also a marker for prenatally programmed susceptibility. The aim was to test if effects of sensitive parenting on LBW and very LBW (VLBW, <1,500g) versus normal birth weight (NBW, 2,500g) children's academic achievement are best explained by a differential susceptibility versus diathesis-stress model of person-X-environment interaction. MethodsNine hundred and twenty-two children ranging from 600g to 5,140g birth weight were studied as part of a prospective, geographically defined, longitudinal investigation of neonatal at-risk children in South Germany (Bavarian Longitudinal Study). Sensitive parenting during a structured mother-child interaction task was observed and rated at age 6years. Academic achievement was assessed with standardized mathematic, reading, and spelling/writing tests at age 8years. ResultsMaternal sensitivity positively predicted the academic achievement of both LBW (n=283) and VLBW (n=202) children. Confirmatory-comparative and model-fitting analysis (testing LBW vs. NBW and VLBW vs. NBW) indicated that LBW and VLBW children were more susceptible than NBW to the adverse effects of low-sensitive, but not beneficial effects of high-sensitive parenting. ConclusionsFindings proved more consistent with the diathesis stress than differential-susceptibility model of person-X-environment interaction: LBW and VLBW children's exposure to positive parenting predicted catch-up to their NBW peers, whereas exposure to negative parenting predicted much poorer functioning.