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The relationship between the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and preschool gross motor and cognitive performance
T K Crowe1, J C Deitz, F C Bennett
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
Insights
Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) scores at 12 and 24 months show limited predictive power for later child development. Therapists should use caution when predicting preschool outcomes based on early BSID assessments.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatric Health
- Occupational Therapy
Background:
- Early identification of developmental disabilities is crucial for timely intervention.
- Limited therapy resources necessitate accurate prediction of future deficits in high-risk infants.
- Understanding the predictive validity of early developmental assessments is essential for clinical practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) scores in the first two years and later motor and cognitive performance.
- To assess the predictive accuracy of BSID scores at 4, 12, and 24 months for children at high risk for developmental delays.
- To inform occupational therapists and healthcare professionals on the utility of early BSID assessments.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study of 70 biologically high-risk infants.
- Evaluations using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) at corrected ages of 4 months, 1 year, and 2 years.
- Assessment of motor and cognitive performance at 4.5 years.
Main Results:
- BSID scores at 4 months showed no significant correlation with later performance.
- BSID Mental Scale scores at 12 months significantly correlated with both motor and cognitive preschool outcomes.
- BSID Mental Scale scores at 24 months significantly correlated only with cognitive preschool outcomes.
- The magnitude of significant correlations was small, indicating limited predictive power.
Conclusions:
- BSID scores at 4, 12, and 24 months have limited predictive value for later preschool development in high-risk infants.
- Occupational therapists should exercise caution when interpreting BSID results for predicting long-term outcomes.
- Further research may be needed to identify more robust predictors of developmental trajectories in at-risk populations.
Abstract:
Early identification of disabilities enables early intervention by occupational therapists and other health professionals. Because the number of children who can be seen in therapy is limited, it is important to be able to identify those infants most likely to have deficits at a later age. Therefore, it is necessary to study and understand the relationship between infants' scores on early developmental assessments and later developmental outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) during the first 2 years of life are related to motor and cognitive performance at 4 1/2 years for a sample of children identified at birth as biologically high risk. This retrospective study involved 70 children who were evaluated at corrected ages of 4 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 4 1/2 years. The 4-month BSID Mental and Motor Scale scores did not relate significantly to later cognitive motor performance. In contrast, the 12-month BSID Mental Scale scores related significantly to preschool scores on both the motor and cognitive measures. However, the 24-month BSID Mental Scale scores related significantly only to scores on the preschool cognitive measures. Though significant, these correlation coefficients had small magnitudes. Thus, therapists should be cautious about using BSID testing at 4 months, 1 year, and 2 years when attempting to predict later preschool performance.