The British Journal of Developmental Disabilities

Vol. 48, Part 1, JANUARY 2002, No. 94, pp. 3-13

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STABILITY OF THE BAYLEY MENTAL SCALE OF INFANT DEVELOPMENT WITH HIGH RISK INFANTS

Alison Niccols and Andrew Latchman

Summary

This study examines stability of scores on the Bayley Mental Scale of Infant Development Second Edition (BSID-II) across the first two years of life for high risk infants. BSID-II scores in the first and second year of life for 16 infants with Down syndrome and 17 medically fragile infants were compared to Bayley Mental Scale of Infant Development (BSID) scores for 33 matched infants. A three-way interaction of Group, Time, and Bayley Version on developmental quotient (DQ) scores revealed that, for infants with Down syndrome, scores decreased from the first to second year for both test versions, but for medically fragile infants, BSID scores decreased from the first to second year and BSID-II scores increased from the first to second year. These results indicate that the BSID-II is sensitive to patterns of developmental changes in the first two years of life that are specific to infants with Down syndrome and to medically fragile infants. Together with other findings regarding mental development in specific groups of high risk infants, they invite cautious interpretation of assessments conducted in the first two years of life. Specifically, results from BSID-II assessments of high risk infants in the first year of life should not be used for predictive purposes, and must be interpreted differently for infants with Down syndrome than for infants with multiple medical conditions. Acknowledgements This study was financially supported by the Infant-Parent Program, Chedoke Child and Family Centre, Children™s Hospital, Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University. This paper was submitted in partial fulfillment of Andrew Latchman™s B.Sc. degree in Bio-Psychology at McMaster University. This research was presented at the 1999 Society for Research in Child Development Conference, Albuquerque, NM, and the 1999 Ontario Association for Infant Development Conference in Mississauga, Canada. We are grateful to the Infant Development Programs (Hamilton- Wentworth, London, Peel, and Waterloo) who allowed us to access their records to conduct the study. We thank Leslie Atkinson for his help in planning the study, Rosalina De Sa for her help with data collection, Helen Williamson for her help with data analyses, and Michael Boyle, Charles Cunningham, Kathleen Kitching, Michelle Van Tuyl, Helen Williamson, and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.

*Alison Niccols, Ph.D.

Psychologist, Clinical Service and Research Development Leader, Infant-Parent Program,

Building 74, Chedoke Child and Family Centre, Childrens Hospital, Hamilton Health Sciences,

Box 2000, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5

Tel: +001 905 521 2100 Ext. 77408 Fax: +001 905 521 7926 E-mail: niccols@hhsc.ca

Andrew Latchman, M.D.

Resident, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, 1280

Main St. West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4L8

* For Correspondence