Assessing development of urban Aboriginal infants.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the appropriateness of using the Griffiths' Mental Developmental Scales (birth - 2 years) to assess development in a cohort of urban Aboriginal children at 12 months of age.


METHODS
The Gudaga study is a prospective longitudinal cohort study assessing the health, development and service use of urban Aboriginal infants residing in south west Sydney. All infants receive a full heath and development assessment (including the Griffiths' Mental Developmental Scales) when they are 12 months of age. This study analyses the results of the first 55 infants.


RESULTS
The distribution of the General Quotient for the first 55 Gudaga infants is normal with a mean of 98.5 (SD 10.5). There is no significant difference between the Gudaga cohort and the Griffiths' standardisation sample for locomotor, personal-social, hearing and language, and eye and hand coordination sub-quotient scores.


CONCLUSIONS
The Griffiths' Mental Developmental Scales may be an appropriate tool to use for the assessment of development in urban Aboriginal infants.
Bennett
Beverley
B
Department of Community Paediatrics, Campbelltown Hospital, New South Wales, Australia.
McDonald
Jenny
J
Knight
Jennifer
J
Comino
Elizabeth
E
Henry
Richard
R
D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population