TY - JOUR
T1 - Maternal estimates of developmental age in preschool children
AU - Pulsifer, Margaret B.
AU - Hoon, Alexander H.
AU - Palmer, Frederick B.
AU - Gopalan, Ramana
AU - Capute, Arnold J.
PY - 1994
Y1 - 1994
N2 - Objective: To investigate the accuracy of maternal estimates of developmental age in preschool children with suspected developmental delay. Methods: In a sample of 139 preschool children, aged 5 to 60 months, mothers were asked before evaluation to estimate the developmental age of their child. Maternal estimates were converted to a developmental quotient (DQ) and compared with results from standardized tests of cognitive functioning, adaptive abilities, expressive and receptive language, and visual-motor skills. Results: A high correlation was found (r = 0.82; p <0.0001) between maternal- estimate DQ and actual DQ (mean of test scores). Most mothers estimated within 15% of their child's actual functioning, and 84% of mothers estimated within ±5 months of actual functioning. Multiple regression found no factors that would identify mothers who were more or less accurate in estimating developmental age. Maternal-estimate DQ was sensitive (83%) and specific (83%) for mental retardation. Conclusion: Maternal estimates provide an accurate measure of developmental functioning and could be successfully incorporated into routine developmental surveillance of preschool children. (J PEDIATR 1994;125:S18-24)
AB - Objective: To investigate the accuracy of maternal estimates of developmental age in preschool children with suspected developmental delay. Methods: In a sample of 139 preschool children, aged 5 to 60 months, mothers were asked before evaluation to estimate the developmental age of their child. Maternal estimates were converted to a developmental quotient (DQ) and compared with results from standardized tests of cognitive functioning, adaptive abilities, expressive and receptive language, and visual-motor skills. Results: A high correlation was found (r = 0.82; p <0.0001) between maternal- estimate DQ and actual DQ (mean of test scores). Most mothers estimated within 15% of their child's actual functioning, and 84% of mothers estimated within ±5 months of actual functioning. Multiple regression found no factors that would identify mothers who were more or less accurate in estimating developmental age. Maternal-estimate DQ was sensitive (83%) and specific (83%) for mental retardation. Conclusion: Maternal estimates provide an accurate measure of developmental functioning and could be successfully incorporated into routine developmental surveillance of preschool children. (J PEDIATR 1994;125:S18-24)
KW - DQ
KW - Developmental quotient
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U2 - 10.1016/S0022-3476(94)70171-7
DO - 10.1016/S0022-3476(94)70171-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 7517445
AN - SCOPUS:0028353025
SN - 0022-3476
VL - 125
SP - S18-S24
JO - Journal of Pediatrics
JF - Journal of Pediatrics
IS - 1
ER -