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[Griffith test in the evaluation of psychomotor development in the 1st year of life. A longitudinal study]
Insights
The Griffith psychometric test revealed higher developmental rates in Italian infants compared to original findings. Social behavior scores were notably elevated across all age groups.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
- Psychometrics
Background:
- The Griffith psychometric test is a widely used tool for assessing child development.
- Previous studies established baseline developmental rates for various domains.
- Understanding developmental trajectories in diverse populations is crucial for accurate assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the psychomotor development of healthy Italian newborn infants using the Griffith test.
- To compare developmental rates with original English norms and historical Italian data.
- To analyze the balance and individual variations in developmental trajectories.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study involving 20 healthy newborn infants monitored quarterly for their first year.
- Application of the Griffith psychometric test to assess motor, personal-social, language, eye-hand coordination, and practical reasoning skills.
- Transverse and longitudinal data analysis to track developmental progress and identify patterns.
Main Results:
- Infants demonstrated consistently higher general developmental rates than original Griffith test values.
- Significantly elevated rates were observed at 12 months compared to previous Italian cohorts.
- Developmental profiles were generally balanced, except for social behavior, which was markedly higher.
- Individual development outlines showed variability, with notable oscillations in longitudinal assessments.
Conclusions:
- Italian infants exhibit accelerated psychomotor development compared to established norms.
- Social behavior development appears particularly advanced in this cohort.
- While average development is balanced, individual trajectories show significant fluctuations, warranting further investigation.
Abstract:
Griffith psychometric test has been experimented on a group of 20 healthy newborn infants, monitored during their 1st year of life with quarterly check-ups. It was clear that the development general rates were constantly higher than the original values reported by the English author. In particular, in 12 months old infants, the rates appeared significantly higher than the rates observed on the same Italian specimen in past periods. A transverse and longitudinal study of the psychomotor development of subjects included in the specimen has given the opportunity to verify some of his features. The development outlines, traced by employing the average rates relevant to the 5 different aspects monitored (motor, personal-social, language, eye-hand co-ordination, practical reasoning), appeared to be well-balanced, that is without dissynchronisms between the different scales. The only exception being the scale of the social behaviour, were the average rates appear to be sensibly higher at every age. Individual development outlines, on the contrary, appeared to be disjointed in all aspects (except for 4 cases). In the longitudinal analysis then, some noteworthy oscillations in both general and partial rates, were observed among the controls carried out in subsequent periods in all the subjects.