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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Field testing of the movement assessment of infants
J W Schneider1, W Lee, I J Chasnoff
1Program in Physical Therapy, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL 60611.
Insights
The Movement Assessment of Infants may not accurately reflect typical motor skills in 4-month-olds. This study found higher risk scores in infants, suggesting potential revisions are needed for this developmental assessment tool.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric motor development
- Infant assessment tools
- Developmental pediatrics
Background:
- The Movement Assessment of Infants (MAI) is a tool used to evaluate motor development in infants.
- Established normative data is crucial for accurate interpretation of developmental assessments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the motor performance of healthy 4-month-old infants with the existing Movement Assessment of Infants normative profile.
- To identify potential discrepancies in the MAI's current scoring and normative data.
Main Methods:
- Fifty healthy 4-month-old infants were assessed using 65 items from the Movement Assessment of Infants.
- Data on muscle tone, primitive reflexes, automatic reactions, and volitional movements were collected.
- Risk scores were calculated and compared to the published MAI profile.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in total risk scores were found based on sex or race.
- Thirty percent of infants in the study sample had higher total risk scores than expected based on MAI data.
- Discrepancies between study sample scores and MAI normative scores were observed for 18 of the 65 items.
Conclusions:
- The current Movement Assessment of Infants profile may not accurately represent normal motor behavior in 4-month-old infants.
- The findings suggest a need for revising the MAI to enhance its reliability and validity.
- Potential revisions could improve the accuracy of assessing infant motor development.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to compare the test results of normal 4-month-old infants on the Movement Assessment of Infants with the published Movement Assessment of Infants a priori profile. We tested 50 healthy 4-month-old infants (24 white, 20 black, 6 other races) on 65 Movement Assessment of Infants items, encompassing the categories of muscle tone, primitive reflexes, automatic reactions, and volitional movements. The total-risk score was a sum of categorical risk scores. A between-group analysis of variance showed that the total-risk scores did not differ significantly by sex or race. Thirty percent of the infants we tested had total-risk scores greater than 7, which differed significantly from the 15% in the original Movement Assessment of Infants data. On 18 of the 65 Movement Assessment of Infants items, more than 15% of our study sample had risk scores that differed from Movement Assessment of Infants profile normative scores. The results of our study suggest that the current Movement Assessment of Infants profile may not accurately reflect the normal motor behavior of a 4-month-old infant. Suggestions for revising the Movement Assessment of Infants are made that could improve the reliability and validity of the test.
