Complementing the success of medical intervention.

In this article we have placed the studies reported in this issue of Seminars in Perinatology in the context of research that has been conducted to evaluate the psychologic integrity of preterms. We have focused on the limitations of standardized tests of intelligence as indices of mental competencies, since these tests have been used extensively in studies that evaluate preterms throughout childhood. We described alternative methods for the evaluation of intelligence that are congruent with current theory and data about the nature of intelligence. We have implied that (A) theoretical considerations regarding the mutual and interdependent influences of biology and environment on the course of normal and abnormal human development suggest that intervention aimed at enhancing the psychologic adjustment of preterm children will complement the benefits gained through medical interventions in the neonatal period, and that (B) theoretical and methodological advances in cognitive psychology make it now possible to embark on research programs of evaluation and intervention that could improve the mental functioning of many preterms and hopefully repair some of the damage their central nervous system suffered in early infancy.