Initial psychometric properties of the Denver II in a sample from Northeast Brazil

This paper assesses the initial psychometric properties of the Denver Developmental Screening Test (Denver II), a widely used child development measure in its first population-level administration in Brazil. The Portuguese version was administered to 2755 children under three years of age who were eligible for a home visiting program in Fortaleza, Northeast Brazil. We examine the measure's internal consistency and verify construct validity by testing the dimensionality through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and estimating associations with household socioeconomic variables (e.g., poverty, maternal education, stunting, and parenting practices). The test was found to be psychometrically robust and culturally relevant. Although we found a good fit with the structure proposed by the instrument's author, a structure of two latent variables (motor and cognitive) provided a better fit. This validity exercise provides useful information for policymakers and researchers interested in using this instrument in the Brazilian context or a similar one in the region.