Interests: My research focuses on the impact of very preterm birth on various aspects of the development of children, including cognitive, academic, psychosocial, and behavioural functioning. More specifically, I aim to understand the large differences in outcomes between children. Why does preterm birth affect some children more than others? To understand this, I am particularly interested in the role of social-environmental factors. How does the environment in which a child grows up contribute to their outcomes? My current research aims to identify factors that promote resilient functioning after preterm birth. These factors could be used as targets for interventions to improve outcomes of preterm born children. In addition, the project places emphasis on diversity and disadvantaged groups that remain largely invisible in current research but tend to carry the largest burden. The aim is to increase the potential of more groups in society benefiting from the gained knowledge, by better understanding the needs of specific subgroups of children and what could work best for whom in terms of interventions. Contact Details

 Representative Publications:

• Twilhaar, E. S., Pierrat, V., Marchand-Martin, L., Benhammou, V., Kaminski, M., & Ancel, P. Y. (2022). Profiles of functioning in 5.5-year-old very preterm born children in France: the EPIPAGE-2 study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 61(7), 881-891. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.09.001Link opens in a new window
• Twilhaar, E. S., Wade, R. M., De Kieviet, J. F., Van Goudoever, J. B., Van Elburg, R. M., & Oosterlaan, J. (2018). Cognitive outcomes of children born extremely or very preterm since the 1990s and associated risk factors: a meta-analysis and meta-regression. JAMA Pediatrics, 172(4), 361-367. http://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.5323Link opens in a new window
• Twilhaar, E. S., de Kieviet, J. F., Aarnoudse-Moens, C. S., van Elburg, R. M., & Oosterlaan, J. (2018). Academic performance of children born preterm: a meta-analysis and meta-regression. Archives of Disease in Childhood-Fetal and Neonatal Edition, 103(4), F322-F330. http://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2017-312916Link opens in a new window
• Rapuc, S., Pierrat, V., Marchand‐Martin, L., Benhammou, V., Kaminski, M., Ancel, P. Y., & Twilhaar, E. S. (2023). The interrelatedness of cognitive abilities in very preterm and full‐term born children at 5.5 years of age: a psychometric network analysis approach. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13816Link opens in a new window
• Twilhaar, E. S., de Kieviet, J. F., van Elburg, R. M., & Oosterlaan, J. (2019). Academic trajectories of very preterm born children at school age. Archives of Disease in Childhood-Fetal and Neonatal Edition, 104(4), F419-F423. http://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2018-315028Link opens in a new window
• Twilhaar, E. S., De Kieviet, J. F., Van Elburg, R. M., & Oosterlaan, J. (2020). Neurocognitive processes underlying academic difficulties in very preterm born adolescents. Child Neuropsychology, 26(2), 274-287. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2019.1639652Link opens in a new window
• Twilhaar, E. S., de Kieviet, J. F., Bergwerff, C. E., Finken, M. J., van Elburg, R. M., & Oosterlaan, J. (2019). Social adjustment in adolescents born very preterm: evidence for a cognitive basis of social problems. The Journal of Pediatrics, 213, 66-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.06.045Link opens in a new window

 

A full list of publications can be found on Google ScholarLink opens in a new window.

 

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