ABSTRACT
The study of risk factors has become an important part of our understanding of child development. A high risk child is one who is at greater than average risk for later deviancies in behavior because of membership in some identifiable population. The Kauai Longitudinal Study is one of the few studies to prospectively follow the roots of resilience in infants. Multiple risk factors including perinatal complications, parental psychopathology, family instability and chronic poverty were related to later learning or behavior problems in approximately one-third of the subjects. Demographic and medical information was collected during the infant’s hospital stay in the neonatal period. The Hollingshead four-factor index of social status was used to measure socioeconomic status based on parental education and occupation. Cognitive and motor outcome variables were measured during the laboratory visit at four years of age. The Beery Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, a test of geometrical form reproduction, is a measure of the integration of visuomotor functions.
