Analysis of Risk Factors in Children with Suspected Developmental Delays on the Denver Developmental Screening Test

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of questionable development according to developmental screening testing for children, and to explore biological and environmental risk factors of developmental delays.

Method: The study participants were 153 children under two years of age. A questionnaire and Home Observation for measurement of the Environment (HOME) inventory were used to collect data, and Korean Denver II was administered.

Results: The overall prevalence of questionable development was 11.1%. Significant differences in biological factors between the normal development group and questionable development group were the rate of prematurity, twins, the educational level of mother and father’s and the presence of an illness in the mother (p<.10). Maternal acceptance in HOME was significantly different between the two groups. The factors related to questionable development that were significant in the logistic regression analysis were prematurity (OR=3.56, p=.026), and maternal acceptance in HOME score (OR=.629, p=.028).

Conclusion: Early developmental screening tests seem necessary for all children, especially for prematurely born children. Also, child rearing environments were identified as significant factors in the development of all children. These findings suggest that the HOME scores might be useful in identifying children at risk for developmental delays, and that interventions for these children will probably be more effective if their mothers are helped to provide a more appropriate social environment.