Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the Developmental Milestones Questionnaire of the Survey of Wellbeing of Young Children Brazilian version (DM-SWYC-BR) and establish the preliminary norms to identify suspected developmental delay in Brazilian children up to 65 months.
Methods: A psychometric study was conducted on 1535 children from 3 Brazilian regions. The caregivers answered the Brazilian Portuguese cross-culturally adapted version of the DM-SWYC. We calculated the internal consistency and performed an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The clinical threshold for the suspected developmental delay was set at 85% from the DM-SWYC-BR mean score for each age. The prevalence of suspected delay was calculated using current preliminary cutoffs and original norms.
Results: EFA confirmed the unidimensionality of the DM-SWYC-BR items (average variance extracted = 0.78). Cronbach's alpha was 0.97. At most ages, the difference between the cutoff points in the Brazilian and North American samples was lower than or equal to 2 points, except at 18, 23, 29, 44, 45, 46, and from 54 to 58 months. There was a marked divergence in the prevalence of suspected developmental delay by age ranges using the Brazilian or North American cutoff points. However, the general mean prevalence was quite similar (27.5% vs. 28.2%, respectively).
Conclusions: We established the cutoff points to interpret the DM-SWYC-BR results when screening for developmental delays in Brazilian children. The satisfactory psychometric properties support its use for screening developmental delays in the public health system. Reliable assessment tools are critical to promoting child development effectively, ensuring timely intervention.
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