Background: Optimal development of children in their early months and years has a bearing on their achievement levels later in life.
Objectives: To assess the socio-emotional and cognitive development in children 0-5 years and to find out the proportion of children having developmental delay and its associated factors.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in 520 children in Delhi. Development was assessed using the Indian Council for Medical Research Development Screening Test.
Results: In all, 10.6% of children <5 years old were found to be developmentally delayed. Maximum number of children (10.1%) were found to have a delay in the do main of 'hearing language, concept development'. Of all the factors, the strongest association was found with stunting, paternal education, alcohol abuse, attendance in anganwadi/playschool.
Conclusions: The study concludes that developmental delay is present in a sizable proportion of children <5 years of age and may be a significant factor in the overall achievement of life's potential in them.
Keywords: alcohol abuse; cognition; developmental delay disorders; developmental surveillance.
© The Author [2016]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.