the tendency to be emotionally cold, aggressive and prone to antisocial behavior. Overall, the preterm group had lower extraversion scores and higher neuroticism scores. The two groups scored similarly, however, on the measure of psychoticism. A complex mix of genes and environment goes into forming an individual's personality, and it's not clear why premature and full-term children might have general differences in some traits, according to Allin and his colleagues. Early injury to the brain could be one factor, they speculate, as may the influence of parents and peers as the children grow up. For example, parents of premature babies may be more protective from early on, which may contribute to the more cautious, introspective nature seen in these children. On the other hand, the researchers point out, it's not clear how important parenting style may be in adult personality. Studies of twins who were raised separately suggest that personality has a large genetic component. It's possible, Allin's team speculates, that premature children are more likely than others to inherit certain personality traits. One recent study found that women with high anxiety levels during pregnancy were at increased risk of delivering prematurely - which suggests preterm infants might be more likely to inherit a tendency toward anxiety. --SP 21 49 Local Time 18 49 GMT
