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Validation and Reliability of the Test of Infant Motor Performance for Brazilian Infants
Eloá Maria Dos Santos Chiquetti1, Nadia Cristina Valentini2, Raquel Saccani3
1Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal do Pampa, Uruguaiana, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Insights
The Portuguese version of the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) is a valid and reliable tool for assessing motor skills in Brazilian infants. This study confirms its accuracy in identifying potential developmental delays.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Motor Development Assessment
Background:
- The Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) is a crucial tool for assessing early motor development.
- Validating and ensuring the reliability of translated versions of assessment tools is essential for global application.
- The Portuguese version of the TIMP needed evaluation for use with Brazilian infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of the TIMP.
- To establish the suitability of the TIMP for assessing motor performance in Brazilian infants.
- To provide a culturally adapted and validated tool for early motor assessment.
Main Methods:
- Content validity was assessed by 20 health professionals.
- Inter-rater, intra-rater, and test-retest reliability were evaluated.
- Internal consistency, discriminant, predictive, and concurrent validity were examined in 655 Brazilian infants (34 weeks PMA to 17 weeks CA).
Main Results:
- High concordance among experts for content validity (ICC .74–1.00, AC1 .87–1.00).
- Strong reliability (inter-rater α .65–.99, intra-rater α .97–.99, test-retest r=1.00, ICC=1.00) and excellent internal consistency (α .71–.98).
- Significant discriminant (p<.0001), predictive (r .55–.89), and concurrent validity (τ .21–.44) were demonstrated.
Conclusions:
- The Portuguese version of the TIMP demonstrates strong validity and reliability for Brazilian infants.
- The findings support the use of this adapted TIMP for accurate motor performance assessment.
- This validated tool can aid in the early identification of motor delays in Brazilian infants.
Abstract:
Aim: To investigate the validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) for Brazilian infants.Methods: The study was conducted with 20 health professionals and 655 Brazilian infants (between 34 weeks of Post-Menstrual Age and 17 weeks Corrected Age).Results: (1) Content validity: High concordance among the experts, for language clarity and pertinence, were found (ICC from.74 to .100; AC1 from .87 to 1.00); (2) Inter-rater, intra-rater, and test-retest reliability: Strong inter (α from .65 to .99) and intra (α from .97 to .99) raters agreement, and high test-retest reliability (r = 1.00; ICC = 1.00); (3) Internal consistency: Excellent internal consistency (α from .71 to .98); (4) Discriminant validity: Significant power to identify groups at-risk for delays (p < .0001); (5) Predictive validity: Capability to predict motor delay (r .55 to .89) was found; and, (6) Concurrent validity: Significant (p < .05) and low correlations at the first months (τ .21 to .24) and weak to moderate correlations at 3 and 4 month-old (τ .42 and .44, respectively) were observed between the TIMP and Alberta Infant Motor Scale.Conclusions: The results provide evidence of validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of the TIMP for Brazilian infants.
