Inventário Dimensional de Desenvolvimento Infantil (IDADI): a Brazilian tool for assessing child development

• In Event: Instruments to evaluate child development in Brazil: adaptation and construction processes

Abstract

The objective of this talk is to present the development process of the Inventário Dimensional de Desenvolvimento Infantil (IDADI) [Dimensional Inventory for Child Development Assessment]. It is an instrument for assessing children from 4 to 72 months of age through parental reporting, covering the following domains: Cognitive, Socio-emotional, Motor Skills, Communication and Language, and Adaptive Behavior. The development process involved: description of the theoretical foundation; development of the preliminary version of the instrument; expert item analysis; semantic analysis of the items by the target population; and a pilot study. A constitutive definition was established for each preselected domain encompassing theoretical aspects that should be assessed in each domain. The theoretical assumptions that ground the definitions of the constructs involved different fields (e.g., psychology, speech-language therapy, physical education) and, especially, knowledge concerning developmental milestones expected in each age range. An operational definition of the domains was also established, and each domain comprises the items considered to be the most relevant for assessing child development in each field. The preliminary version (556 items) was constructed based on a systematic review of the most cited instruments in the literature, besides three to five judges who assessed items of each IDADI’s dimensions. The target population also analyzed the instrument, mothers of different SES, especially those from low SES, through interviews and focal groups. A total of 2,190 mothers answered the pre-final version (524 items) in person or via the internet. Rash analyses were used to eliminate items with infit and outfit problems were excluded, considering their theoretical relevance as well. The concurrent vertical scaling was used as IDADI was developed with overlapping items (in terms of age bands). The final version of IDADI is composed of 435 items. IDADI gives three different scores: total, a developmental score (theta scores) and two T and z values. The developmental score permits comparing the child in different moments of development. Developmental curves are offered. IDADI was published by Vetor Editora, being the unique instrument assessing child development in seven domains constructed in Brazil.

Authors

• Denise R Bandeira, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
  Presenting Author

• Mônia Aparecida Silva, Federal University of São João del-Rei

• Euclides Jose de Mendonça Filho, McGill University