title: Denver Developmental Test Findings and their Relationship with Sociodemographic Variables in a Large Community Sample of 0-4-Year-Old Children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of developmental problems and relationship with sociodemographic variables in a community sample of young children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 1000 children (558 males, 442 females, age range 1-48 months, mean 18.4 months, SD 7.8 months). Children were referred generally by their parents for developmental evaluation and consultation in response to a public announcement in a district area in Istanbul, Turkey. An interview form and the Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST) were used for sociodemographic data and developmental evaluation. The χ2test and Pearson's correlation test were used for data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven hundred forty-one out of 1000 children (74.1%) had normal, 140 (14%) had risky, and 119 (11.9%) had abnormal findings on the DDST results. The probability of abnormal findings on the DDST results was significantly higher in males (p=0.003), the 2-4-year-old group (p<0.05), families with more than one child (p=0.001), consanguineous marriages (p<0.01), low parental educational levels and low household income (p<0.01), and in children without a history of breastfeeding (p=0.000). Immigration status and delivery mode did not have a significant effect on the probability of abnormal findings on the DDST results (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sociodemographic factors have a noteworthy impact on development. Determining these factors is important especially during the first years of life.
authors.affiliation: Psychosocial Support Center for Families, Women and Disabled, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Seyhan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Çelikkiran
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Gaziosmanpaşa University Faculty of Medicine, Tokat, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bozkurt
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Gaziosmanpaşa University Faculty of Medicine, Tokat, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coşkun
keywords: Children; Denver; development; sociodemographic factors