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Iranian Journal of Pediatrics
Tehran University of Medical Sciences Press
ISSN: 1018-4406 EISSN: 1018-4406
Vol. 22, No. 1, 2012, pp. 28-34
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Bioline Code: pe12005
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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Iranian Journal of Pediatrics, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2012, pp. 28-34
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The Psychometric Properties of Newsha Developmental Scale: an Integrated Test for Persian Speaking Children
Jafari, Zahra & Asad-Malayeri, Saeed
Abstract
Objective: The term ‘child development’ is used to describe the skills acquired by children between birth and
the age of 6 years. Development is rather an integrated process and impairment in one developmental
milestone can affect other areas too. The goal of the present study was preparation and determination of
validity and reliability of the "Newsha Developmental Scale" as an integrated scale for assessing
developmental skills of Persian speaking children up to the age of six years.
Methods: The Newsha developmental scale was created to thoroughly evaluate seven developmental domains
in 13 age groups from birth to 72 months. It was based on the concerns of parents and nursery teachers about
child development. In order to obtain the scores of normal population, 593 children in nurseries and health
centers of Tehran were assessed. The children had no medical concern or confirmed disorders. With
consideration of the age of each child, the score of minimum or higher in each developmental milestone was
considered as the normal range. The test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability were measured. In
addition, the content validity was assessed by ideas taken from 10 specialists in the field of child development
and the content validity Index (CVI) was calculated. Also construct validity was considered by establishing the
effect of age on test results.
Findings: A correlation of more than 95% was shown in both test-retest and inter-rater reliabilities
(P<0.001). The CVI of various skills of the age groups was between 0.8 and 1, and construct validity revealed
the effect of age on the test results. The gender difference was shown only in 6 items among 646 items of the
scale (P<0.02).
Conclusion: The "Newsha Developmental Scale" is an integrated and comprehensive scale for evaluating the
developmental process of children and identification of any probable delay in developmental abilities of
children with Persian language up to 6 years of age.
Keywords
Development; Scale; Hearing; Language; Speech; Cognition; Motor Skills
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© Copyright 2012 - Iran Journal of Pediatrics Alternative site location: http://diglib.tums.ac.ir/pub/
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