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The validity of parental reporting of infant development
Insights
A new developmental questionnaire accurately screens infants aged 4 weeks to 36 months. This tool reliably identifies normal, questionable, or abnormal development, aiding early intervention for children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Neurology
Background:
- Early identification of developmental delays is crucial for timely intervention.
- Existing screening tools may have limitations in accuracy and scope.
- Parent-completed questionnaires offer a scalable approach to developmental screening.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a parent-completed developmental questionnaire for children aged 4 weeks to 36 months.
- To assess the accuracy of the questionnaire in identifying developmental abnormalities.
- To establish the questionnaire as a reliable and useful screening tool.
Main Methods:
- A developmental questionnaire was created for ages 4 weeks to 36 months.
- 526 infants were screened at 28 weeks using the questionnaire.
- A full Gesell Developmental and Neurologic Examination was administered at 40 weeks for validation.
Main Results:
- The questionnaire demonstrated high reliability and validity when compared to the Gesell Examination.
- Underscreening rates were low: 2.6% for major abnormalities and 10% for minor abnormalities.
- Overscreening was minimal at 6%.
Conclusions:
- The parent-completed developmental questionnaire is an accurate and useful tool for screening young children.
- Low rates of underscreening and overscreening support its clinical utility.
- This validated tool can aid in the early detection of developmental concerns in infants and toddlers.
Abstract:
A developmental questionnaire, encompassing the ages from 4 weeks to 36 months, has been devised that, when completed by parents, can be used to screen children as being developmentally normal, questionable, or abnormal. A total of 526 infants were screened by this questionnaire at 28 weeks of age and then examined at 40 weeks of age by a full Gesell Developmental and Neurologic Examination. Underscreening of those with major abnormalities was 2.6%, and of those with minor abnormalities, 10%. Overscreening was 6%. In view of the demonstrated high reliability and validity of the full Gesell Developmental and Neurologic Examination on which the questionnaire is based, the relatively small percentages of overscreening and underscreening make it the most accurate and useful screening questionnaire to date.
