The impact of premature birth on fear of personal death and attachment styles in adolescence

The differences between adolescents born pre-term (n = 50) and a matched sample of adolescents born full-term were examined in relation to fear personal death, attachment styles, and the relation between the two variables. Findings revealed that adolescents born pre-term showed a higher level of fear of personal death and a lower frequency of secure attachment style than adolescents born full-term. In addition, secure full-term born adolescents exhibited a lower level of fear of personal death compared with insecure adolescents; whereas among those born pre-term, attachment styles did not affect the level of fear of personal death. Results are discussed in Resultsare discussedin terms of the long-term impact of premature birth on affect regulation in adolescence.