Does parents' evaluation of developmental status at school entry predict language, achievement, and quality of life 2 years later?
OBJECTIVE
We studied the accuracy of the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) at school entry in predicting academic, language, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes 2 years later.


METHODS
Prospective population study in elementary schools in Melbourne, Australia. Base Population. A total of 1591 school entry children who participated in a separate cross-sectional study. Cases. One hundred seventy-three children randomly selected from those with significant parental developmental concerns. Controls. One hundred twenty-nine children without significant parental development concerns. Predictors (1997). Parents completed all 10 PEDS items; teachers completed 5 PEDS items. Outcomes (1999). The PEDS and the Child Health Questionnaire (parents) and the Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills-Revised and the Renfrew Action Picture Test of language (children). Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for low outcome scores, defined as >1.0 standard deviation below the mean or <16th centile.


RESULTS
At outcome, case parents reported more "significant" concerns on the PEDS than did control parents (65% vs 26%, OR 5.3), but mean language and academic scores were only slightly lower for case children. Parent-reported self-help and school skills concerns predicted low language (ORs 2.1-2.8) and academic (ORs 1.3-6.6) scores. Teacher concerns about early school skills predicted low academic scores (ORs 3.7-4.7). However, sensitivity and specificity values were modest. Baseline developmental concerns predicted poor scores on a number of domains of HRQoL 2 years later.


CONCLUSIONS
Although individual developmental concerns at school entry variably predict later academic and language scores, sensitivity and specificity values would not support use of the PEDS as a stand-alone screen to detect later problems.
Wake
Melissa
M
Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children's Hospital, University of Melbourne, Department of Paediatrics and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia. melissa.wake@rch.org.au
Gerner
Bibi
B
Gallagher
Susan
S
D017677:Age Distribution; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010290:Parents; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors