Relationship between Birth Weight and Neuropshychological Maturity in Preschoolers from Tunja (Colombia)

Abstract

Objective.
To establish the relationship between birth weight and neuropsychological maturity in preschool
students of one public school and one private school from the city of Tunja, Colombia, and equally the
differences between the type of institution and the sex of the participants.
Method.
Using a cross sectional
correlational-descriptive study, a group of 72 children from 36 to 78 months (
M
= 54.19,
SD
= 9.88) was
evaluated with the questionnaire of Neuropsychological Maturity (CUMANIN). The weight of the children was
registered with information from the parents and checked with the birth card.
Results.
Meaningful differences
were found only between birth weight and the subscale of psychomotricity (
p
= 0.265, CI = 95%). Girls
perform better than the boys. The verbal scale with better performance was presented in the participants of the
private school.
Conclusion.
Birth weight can be related with the psychomotor development, the results confirm
the findings obtained previously by comparing the sex and the type of institution to which the children attend.