Biomaterial Database

Can developmental screening tests identify children who are developmentally at risk? 1989

S J Meisels

Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109.

Developmental screening tests are in widespread use, but few reliable and valid tests are available. The most frequently used screening instrument for detecting young children who are at risk for developmental delays is the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST). Although the DDST has excellent test specificity, overreferring few children, results from more than a dozen studies of the DDST's concurrent and predictive validity fail to replicate the original validation and demonstrate a uniformly poor sensitivity, ie, a high proportion of underreferrals. Whether samples are stratified by age, risk, duration of time between predictor and outcome, or type of outcome measure used, these studies demonstrate that the DDST underrefers children at nearly a 2:1 ratio. Several other screening tests with more optimal psychometric properties are presented. It is urged that caution be exercised in using tests for predicting the risk of developmental problems in young children unless the tests have acceptable levels of sensitivity and specificity.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D008403	Mass Screening	Organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease.	Screening,Mass Screenings,Screening, Mass,Screenings,Screenings, Mass
D011237	Predictive Value of Tests	In screening and diagnostic tests, the probability that a person with a positive test is a true positive (i.e., has the disease), is referred to as the predictive value of a positive test; whereas, the predictive value of a negative test is the probability that the person with a negative test does not have the disease. Predictive value is related to the sensitivity and specificity of the test.	Negative Predictive Value,Positive Predictive Value,Predictive Value Of Test,Predictive Values Of Tests,Negative Predictive Values,Positive Predictive Values,Predictive Value, Negative,Predictive Value, Positive
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002658	Developmental Disabilities	Disorders in which there is a delay in development based on that expected for a given age level or stage of development. These impairments or disabilities originate before age 18, may be expected to continue indefinitely, and constitute a substantial impairment. Biological and nonbiological factors are involved in these disorders. (From American Psychiatric Glossary, 6th ed)	Child Development Deviations,Child Development Disorders,Child Development Disorders, Specific,Developmental Delay Disorders,Disabilities, Developmental,Development Disorders, Child,Child Development Deviation,Child Development Disorder,Development Deviation, Child,Development Deviations, Child,Development Disorder, Child,Developmental Delay Disorder,Developmental Disability,Deviation, Child Development,Disability, Developmental
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005069	Evaluation Studies as Topic	Works about studies that determine the effectiveness or value of processes, personnel, and equipment, or the material on conducting such studies.	Critique,Evaluation Indexes,Evaluation Methodology,Evaluation Report,Evaluation Research,Methodology, Evaluation,Pre-Post Tests,Qualitative Evaluation,Quantitative Evaluation,Theoretical Effectiveness,Use-Effectiveness,Critiques,Effectiveness, Theoretical,Evaluation Methodologies,Evaluation Reports,Evaluation, Qualitative,Evaluation, Quantitative,Evaluations, Qualitative,Evaluations, Quantitative,Indexes, Evaluation,Methodologies, Evaluation,Pre Post Tests,Pre-Post Test,Qualitative Evaluations,Quantitative Evaluations,Report, Evaluation,Reports, Evaluation,Research, Evaluation,Test, Pre-Post,Tests, Pre-Post,Use Effectiveness
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012307	Risk Factors	An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, inborn or inherited characteristic, which, based on epidemiological evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.	Health Correlates,Risk Factor Scores,Risk Scores,Social Risk Factors,Population at Risk,Populations at Risk,Correlates, Health,Factor, Risk,Factor, Social Risk,Factors, Social Risk,Risk Factor,Risk Factor Score,Risk Factor, Social,Risk Factors, Social,Risk Score,Score, Risk,Score, Risk Factor,Social Risk Factor