Development of the Preverbal Visual Assessment (PreViAs) questionnaire

Abstract

Background: Visual cognitive functions of preverbal infants are evaluated by means of a behavioral assessment. Parents or primary caregivers may be appropriate to certify the acquisition of certain abilities.

Aims: To develop the PreViAs (Preverbal Visual Assessment) questionnaire to assess visual behavior of infants under 24 months of age and to assess the normative outcomes for each item at each age.

Study design: The process was divided into three phases: scale development (items and domains generation), pilot testing, and exploratory analysis.

Results: The final version of the PreViAs questionnaire consisted of 30 items, each related to one or more of four domains (visual attention, visual communication, visual-motor coordination, and visual processing). For the exploratory analysis, 298 children (159 boys and 139 girls) were recruited. Their ages ranged from 0.1 to 24 months (mean, 11.2 months). Internal consistency of the questionnaire was high for all domains (Cronbach's α coefficients of 0.85-0.94).

Conclusions: The PreViAs questionnaire is a useful scale for assessing visual cognitive abilities of infants under 24 months of age. It is easy and feasible to complete by primary caregivers.

Keywords: Cerebral visual impairment; Children questionnaires; Visual development; Visual impairment.