ABSTRACT
There is a considerable literature indicating that premature infants are an "at risk" group in social interactions as well as in physical and cognitive development, 1–3 and they are overrepresented in child abuse and failure to thrive populations. The Infant Temperament Questionnaire of Carey and McDevitt was revised and revalidated for an Australian population and sent to mothers of infants who had been born prematurely and who were aged 4 to 8 months. Two hundred and twenty-six questionnaires were distributed and 110 returned. The Infant Temperament Questionnaire of Carey and McDevitt is a 95-item questionnaire for infants aged 4 to 8 months which uses a 6-point rating scale and is completed by the care giver. The infants were then categorized into subgroups of "easy," "difficult," and "slow to warm up" according to Carey's formula and again comparisons were made between the two samples.
