Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Quantified Assessment of Infant's Gross Motor Abilities Using a Multisensor Wearable
09:24

Quantified Assessment of Infant's Gross Motor Abilities Using a Multisensor Wearable

Published on: May 17, 2024

Construct validity of the Infant Motor Profile: relation with prenatal, perinatal, and neonatal risk factors

Kirsten R Heineman1, Sacha La Bastide-Van Gemert, Vaclav Fidler

  • 1Department of Paediatrics, Institute of Developmental Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.

Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
|May 19, 2010
PubMed

Insights

The Infant Motor Profile (IMP) demonstrates construct validity, as its scores correlate with key factors influencing infant neuromotor development, including gestational age and brain health.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Motor Development

Background:

  • The Infant Motor Profile (IMP) is a tool for assessing infant motor behavior between 3 and 18 months.
  • Understanding the factors influencing infant motor development is crucial for early identification of potential issues.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the construct validity of the Infant Motor Profile (IMP).
  • To examine the relationship between IMP scores and prenatal, perinatal, and neonatal variables.
  • To assess the impact of brain pathology, identified via neonatal ultrasound, on IMP scores.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal prospective study involving 30 term and 59 preterm infants.
  • IMP assessments were conducted at corrected ages of 4, 6, 10, 12, and 18 months.
  • Data on socio-economic status, perinatal factors, and neonatal brain imaging (for preterm infants) were collected and analyzed using mixed-effects models.

Main Results:

  • Gestational age, socio-economic status, and 5-minute Apgar scores significantly influenced IMP scores in the overall infant group.
  • In preterm infants, IMP scores were significantly associated with the presence of brain lesions on neonatal ultrasound and socio-economic status.

Conclusions:

  • The study supports the construct validity of the Infant Motor Profile (IMP).
  • IMP scores are demonstrably linked to crucial determinants of neuromotor function, validating its use in clinical and research settings.
Abstract

More Related Videos

A Battery of Motor Tests in a Neonatal Mouse Model of Cerebral Palsy10:02

A Battery of Motor Tests in a Neonatal Mouse Model of Cerebral Palsy

Published on: November 3, 2016

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale19:15

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Published on: August 25, 2014

Related Concept Videos

The Nativist Approach01:21

The Nativist Approach

The nativist approach to infant cognitive development proposes that infants are born with inherent knowledge structures that allow them to interpret the world almost immediately. This perspective contrasts with earlier developmental theories, such as those proposed by Jean Piaget, which emphasized a more gradual acquisition of cognitive abilities through interaction with the environment. One key concept in this approach is object permanence — the understanding that objects continue to exist...
Teratogenicity01:07

Teratogenicity

The ability of a drug to produce structural deformations and functional abnormalities in the developing embryo or the fetus is called teratogenicity, and the drug producing this effect is known as a teratogen. Teratogenic effects include stillbirth, miscarriage, intrauterine growth restriction, and neurocognitive delay. A teratogen may affect the embryo at different stages of development, which is important in determining the type and extent of the damage. During blastocyst formation, the early...
Relationship with Parents: Attachment01:28

Relationship with Parents: Attachment

Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...
Socioemotional Development during Infancy01:30

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types
Stella Chess...
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
Hierarchy of Motor Control01:18

Hierarchy of Motor Control

The hierarchy of motor control refers to the different levels of organization and processing involved in controlling movement in the body. These levels range from higher cortical areas involved in planning and decision-making to lower spinal cord reflexes that respond automatically to external stimuli.