Abstract
Aims: 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. Conclusion: The Griffiths' Mental Developmental Scales may be an appropriate tool to use for the assessment of development in urban Aboriginal infants.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 384-391 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue number | 45511 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2010 |
Keywords
- Australia
- Campbelltown (N.S.W.)
- Centre for Western Sydney
- New South Wales
- child development
- education
- indigenous children
- infants
- medical care