# Identifying Relationships between Late Premature Birth, Parental Factors, and Early Numerical and Spatial Development

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2021 · $77,250

## Abstract

Project Summary
Worldwide more than 1 in 10 babies born are premature (<37 weeks gestation) and the incidence is on the
rise. The recent increase in preterm (PT) births is the result of the rise in late preterm (LPT) birth (34 to 36
weeks gestation), which constitute the largest and fastest growing portion of all PT births. Children with LPT
are at significant risk to experience mathematical difficulties in school. Mathematical skills are paramount to
later life outcomes, including adulthood health and wealth. Math success in school is rooted in numerical and
spatial skills that develop during preschool years. However, a significant knowledge gap exists on the origins of
LPTs’ math difficulties. The long-term goal for this application is to identify the mechanisms that underlie
academic difficulties in PT children. The overall objective for this application is to characterize the development
of numerical and spatial skills (NS) among LPTs and to identify the key factors that explain individual
differences in NS skills in LPTs and Term children during preschool years. The central hypothesis is that LPTs
will exhibit specific difficulties in NS tasks compared to Term children, controlling for general cognitive
performance. Further, prematurity and parental factors (parental language NS input) will interact in predicting
individual differences in NS skill in LPT and Term children. The rationale that underlies the proposed project is
that once NS development in LPTs is better understood, evidence-based early identification and intervention
methods can be developed to support at-risk LPTs before math difficulties in school emerge. The central
hypothesis will be tested by pursuing two specific aims: 1) Compare the differences in NS skills of LPT and
Term children at age 4 to 5 years; and 2) Determine the relation between parental NS language input and NS
skills of LPT and Term children at age 4 to 5 years. For the first aim, children’s verbal and nonverbal NS skills
will be assessed using experimental and standardized measures. For the second aim, parental language input
about NS concepts (e.g., counting, cardinality, spatial terms) during a semi-naturalistic play interaction in the
lab will be identified. The research proposed in this application is innovative, in the applicant’s opinion,
because it departs from the status quo in research on PTs by focusing on late prematurity and preschool
years, combining experimental, standardized, and observational measures, and examining the role of
experiential factors that might serve as modifiable risk factors that stakeholders can target. The proposal is
significant because it will inform efforts targeting early NS difficulties and thereby maximize LPTs’ future
potential. Ultimately, such knowledge has the potential of offering new opportunities for the development of
innovative and effective early prevention and interventions that leverage home support to prevent academic
difficulties in at-risk children.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10260415
- **Project number:** 5R03HD102449-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** Ece Demir-Lira
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $77,250
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-09 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10260415

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10260415, Identifying Relationships between Late Premature Birth, Parental Factors, and Early Numerical and Spatial Development (5R03HD102449-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10260415. Licensed CC0.

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