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Active, not recruitingNCT04827225PoPPYUpdated Mar 4, 2026

Assessment of the Mental State of Parents of Premature Children and Impact on Neurodevelopment of the Child

An observational study in Parent-Child Relations, sponsored by University Hospital, Angers. Active, not recruiting at 2 sites in France. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-03-04.

Sponsored by University Hospital, Angers · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
300
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The objective of the study is to assess the psychic profile of parents of children born prematurely

Read the detailed description

Prematurity affects aroound 1 in 10 children worlwide. Many studies have shown the role of prematurity in the development of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, mother-to-child attachment disorders, but few studies have sought to assess the evolution of this profile over time as well as to assess all of the parents' psychic dimensions.

The investigators currently have little knowledge of risk factors (psychological or psychiatric history, follow-up undertaken, treatments implemented, etc.) that may favor the occurrence of postpartum mental disorders (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder ).

The investigators will thus seek to identify them. Prematurity can have a negative impact on the parents' psychic experience in the postpartum period. However, few studies have examined the evolution over time of the parental psychic profile and its possible repercussions on the child in terms of attachment and becoming neurodevelopmental. Finally, the majority of studies dealing with these subjects concern only mothers.Tthe investigators will endeavor here to also take into account the fathers.

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Conditions studied

  • Parent-Child Relations

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Keywords

  • prematurity
  • psychic state
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In context

Premature Birth

2,554 studies on the registry are indexed under Premature Birth; 498 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 300 is above the median of 112 across 777 observational studies indexed under Premature Birth.

Browse Premature Birth studies →

Lead sponsor

University Hospital, Angers is the lead sponsor of 464 studies on the registry; 116 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
Child (0–17), Adult (18–64), Older adult (65+)
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Children born prematurely hospitalizes in the neonatalogy department of the Angers University Hospital and included in the cohort 'Réseau Grandir Ensemble en Pays de la Loire'.

Inclusion criteria

Parents whose child meets the following criteria:

  • Singleton child
  • Child aged up to 40 weeks of amenorrhea of age corrected at the time of inclusion
  • Premature child as defined below:

    • Born at a term less than or equal to 34 weeks of amenorrhea And or
    • weighing 1500g or less at birth
  • Hospitalized in the neonatology department of the Angers University Hospital
  • Child included in Réseau Grandir Ensemble (RGE) in Pays de la Loire
  • Informed consent form signed by both parents for their participation and the collection of data from the RGE for the child

Non-inclusion Criteria:

  • Parents not fluent in the French language, implying not being able to complete the various questionnaires
  • Parents including the child :

    • Is from a twin pregnancy or more
    • Has polymalformative syndrome or chromosomal abnormalities

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

- Death of the child or one of the parents during follow-up

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Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
300 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No

Groups and cohorts

  • PoPPY Group

    Mother, Father and child born prematurely

    Behavioral: questionnaires

Interventions

  • Behavioralquestionnaires

    Questionnaires (EPDS, HADS, PPQ, MIBS, etc.) will have to be completed by the parents at different stages of their child's development (38 weeks of amenorrhea, 3 months and 24 months).

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Assessing the psychic profile of parents of children born prematurely

    The psychic profile of the parents will be evaluated from the score obtained in the following autoquestionnaire : \- parental depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)), a score greater than or equal to 10 is in favour of parental depression

    Time frame: At 38 weeks of amenorrhea (+/- 2 weeks)

  2. Assessing the psychic profile of parents of children born prematurely

    The psychic profile of the parents will be evaluated from the score obtained in the following autoquestionnaire : \- parental anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)), a score greater than or equal to 11 of the sub-scale anxiety is in favor of a parental anxiety

    Time frame: At 38 weeks of amenorrhea (+/- 2 weeks)

  3. Assessing the psychic profile of parents of children born prematurely

    The psychic profile of the parents will be evaluated from the score obtained in the following autoquestionnaire : \- posttraumatic stress parental ( Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress disorder Questionnaire (PPQ)), a score greater than or equal to 6 is in favour of posttraumatic parental stress

    Time frame: At 38 weeks of amenorrhea (+/- 2 weeks)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Study the evolution of parents' psychic profile over time

    Use of the same tools and criteria as at 38 weeks of amenorrhea (parental depression : score EPDS ≥ 10)

    Time frame: At 3 months corrected age and at 24 months corrected age

  2. Study the evolution of parents' psychic profile over time

    Use of the same tools and criteria as at 38 weeks of amenorrhea (parental anxiety HADS ≥11)

    Time frame: At 3 months corrected age and at 24 months corrected age

  3. Study the evolution of parents' psychic profile over time

    Use of the same tools and criteria as at 38 WA (posttraumatic stress parental : PPQ ≥ 6)

    Time frame: At 3 months corrected age and at 24 months corrected age

  4. Investigate the presence of peritraumatic dissociation experiments

    A score greater than 15 from the PDEQ (Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire) is considered a score in favour of a significant traumatic dissociation. Minimum scale value : 10, full scale value : 50. Abnormal if greater than or equal to 15.

    Time frame: At 38 weeks of amenorrhea (+/- 2 weeks)

  5. Assess the mother's attachment to her child

    A score equal to or greater than 2 from the MIBS questionnaire (Mother To Infant Bonding Scale) highlights mother-child disorders. This questionnaire is given only to the mother. Minimum scale value : 0, full scale value : 24. Abnormal if greater than or equal to 2.

    Time frame: At 38 weeks of amenorrhea and 3 months corrected age of the child

  6. Assess the parental stress

    A PSI (Parenting Stress Index) high score (percentile rank greater than or equal to 85) is considered a score in favour af a parental stress. Minimum scale value : 0, full scale value : 180. Abnormal if greater than or equal to 85.

    Time frame: At 24 months corrected age

  7. study perinatal or prenatal psychological and psychiatric factors associated with depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress

    these factors are studied by assessing whether or not there is a psychological and / or psychiatric history, medical-psychological follow-up, treatments taken.

    Time frame: at 38 weeks of amenorrhea (+/- 2 weeks), and 3 months corrected age and at 24 months corrected age

  8. Study the impact of the parental psychic profile on the neurological development of the child

    A ASQ (Ages Stages Questionnaire) score less than 185 is considered not optimal. The other data collected during the evaluation of the 24 months of age corrected as part of the Réseau Grandir Ensemble (RGE) will be used for the evaluation of neurological development. These data make it possible to classify children's development into optimal or non-optimal according to a rating system which has been defined by the network's scientific council.The impact of the parental psychic profile (at 38 WA +/- 2 weeks, at 3 months and at 24 months of their child's corrected age) on neurological development will be evaluated by Odds Ratios (ORs): ORs measuring the association between the parental psychic profile and the non-optimal ASQ score, ORs measuring the association between the parental psychic profile and the non-optimal development category according to the RGE rating.

    Time frame: At 24 months corrected age

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Study locations

2 sites
  • CHU Angers
    Angers, France
  • CHU Toulouse
    Toulouse, France
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 4, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04827225
Lead sponsor
University Hospital, Angers
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Apr 1, 2021
Start date
Oct 26, 2020
Primary completion
Apr 26, 2024
Completion
Aug 26, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Mar 4, 2026

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Mar 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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