Standardization of the Denver Developmental Screening Test for children in Seoul: a validity study

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Developmental Psychology
• Cross-cultural Studies

Background:

• The Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) is a widely used tool for assessing child development.
• Adaptation of standardized tests is crucial for accurate cross-cultural application.
• Previous studies have not specifically addressed the applicability of the DDST for Korean children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the applicability of the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) for Korean children.
• To develop a culturally adapted Korean version of the DDST.
• To establish normative data for Korean children based on developmental characteristics in Seoul.

Main Methods:

• Administered the DDST to 2,140 children aged 2 weeks to 6 years and 4 months in Seoul.
• Modified certain test items to align with the Korean cultural context.
• Assessed inter-examiner reliability (n=32) and validity (n=30) against standard developmental scales.
• Employed the Probit method for statistical analysis.

Main Results:

• Seoul children demonstrated faster development across all four DDST domains (personal-social, fine motor-adaptive, language, gross motor) compared to Denver and Tokyo.
• Korean children showed earlier development in specific items within each domain.
• High inter-examiner reliability (97.3%) and strong validity concordance were observed.
• The developed Korean DDST was standardized using the sample data.

Conclusions:

• Korean children exhibit accelerated developmental trajectories, potentially influenced by parental attention and early educational exposure.
• Genetic factors may also contribute to observed developmental differences.
• The study successfully established a standardized Korean version of the DDST, suitable for clinical and research use in Korea.