title: Screening preschool children for fine motor skills: environmental influence.
abstract: [Purpose] The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of gender and family factors on performance in the fine motor domain of the Denver II developmental screening test. [Subjects and Methods] Data were obtained from 2038 healthy children, 999 boys (49%) and 1039 girls (51%) in four age groups: 0-24 months (57%), 25-40 months (21.1%), 41-56 months (10.4%), and 57-82 months (11.5%). [Results] Female gender, higher maternal age, especially in children older than 24 months, and higher maternal education were associated with earlier accomplishment of fine motor items. Higher socioeconomic status was correlated with fine motor skills more noticeably at young ages. [Conclusion] The results of this study support the role of environmental factors in the interpretation of fine motor test results and point to target groups for intervention, such as infants in the low socioeconomic group and preschool children of less educated mothers. Studies in different populations may reveal particular patterns that affect child development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Baskent Univeristy,Turkey.
authors.forename: Nilay
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Comuk-Balci
authors.affiliation: Ihsan Dogramaci Child Development Unit, Hacettepe University, Turkey.
authors.forename: Birgul
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bayoglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Izmir University, Turkey.
authors.forename: Agah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tekindal
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Hacettepe University, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mintaze
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kerem-Gunel
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Hacettepe University, Turkey.
authors.forename: Banu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Anlar
keywords: Development; Maternal educational status; Socioeconomic