Premature babies are more likely to grow up introverted, neurotic and risk averse.
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“Very premature and very low-birth-weight adults who have a socially withdrawn personality might experience difficulty dealing with social relationships with their peers, friends and partners”.
The findings indicate that being born with a low birth weight or very prematurely carries a greater risk of developing withdrawn personality traits like introversion, neuroticism and a tendency for risk aversion.
To test this, British and German researchers compared the personalities of two hundred 26 year olds who had been born very prematurely or who were underweight with those of 197 others who had been born at term or within the normal weight range.
He noted that previous studies have suggested that people with withdrawn personalities are more likely to be bullied in school and are less likely to go on to third level education or get a well-paid job.
“They may also be less prone to form cultural contacts, to help keep romantic relationships also to have kids”.
“The physiological circumstances of these babies” birth might help explain the higher rates of career and relationship difficulties in adulthood.’.
Study participants were either part of the Bavarian Longitudinal Study, which has been tracking the health and wellbeing of children born in 1985-6 in Southern Bavaria, Germany, and admitted to hospital within 10 days of birth, or those born at term in the same maternity units over the same timeframe.
They are easily anxious, less socially engaged, less interested in risk-taking, and more rigid and poorer in communication.
Second, premature babies may be exposed to certain treatments, including corticosteroids, that can change their metabolic and hormonal development, priming them to be more sensitive to stress and anxiety, for example.
Being born very prematurely or with a very low birth weight may also lead to parents being overprotective toward their children, potentially influencing the development of particular personality traits.
“If identified early, parents could be provided with techniques to foster their child’s social skills to help compensate for socially withdrawn personality characteristics”, he adds.
The personality traits that best described the profile of adults who had been born very prematurely and/or extremely underweight were: introversion, risk aversion, autistic spectrum behaviours and neuroticism.
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“Currently, we do not know what the mechanics are by which preterm or low birth weight increases the risk of a socially withdrawn personality”.
