The predictive validity of infant assessments in rural Guatemala.
The behavioral development of rural Guatemalan infants was assessed shortly after birth on a Neonatal Assessment Scale (NAS) and at 6, 15, and 24 months of age on a Composite Infant Scale (CIS). Summary variables based on NAS performance poorly predicted later assessed performance even as recently as 6 months after birth. The CIS was modestly correlated with later performance (between 3 and 7 years of age). These results are similar to those concerning samples from developed nations. Summary variables reflecting failure of easy items, the items most strongly predictive of 4-year performance, and the first principal component factor score all were highly correlated with each other. Of the variables generated they had the most predictive validity. A motor item variable had at least as impressive predictive validity as the mental items at 6 and 15 months. By 24 months the mental variable was a better predictor than the motor variable. In terms of predicting later performance, there seemed to be little justification for weighting items other than to achieve a characterization of overall performance.
D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006166:Guatemala / Q000208:ethnology; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000523:psychology*; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012424:Rural Population