# Assessing early childhood developmental functioning in the parental screening tool: an application of the Rasch model

## TL;DR

This paper evaluates a screening tool for early childhood development using statistical models to improve early identification of developmental issues.

## Contribution

The study applies the Rasch model to validate a unidimensional screening method for early childhood developmental functioning.

## Key findings

- The Guttman scaling approach effectively scales developmental functioning for early identification of at-risk children.
- The Rasch model confirms unidimensionality of developmental functioning, supporting its use for early intervention.
- Organizing items by difficulty could improve detection of children with borderline developmental functioning.

## Abstract

Ensuring rapid and efficient detection of developmental difficulties in early childhood necessitates aligning screening tools with the timing of preventive examinations in each country, emphasizing the need for quick and effective unidimensional screening methods.

This study aims to assess the scalability and unidimensionality of developmental functioning in two- and three-year-old children using Guttman scaling and the Rasch model.

The anonymized data from 1,640 children aged 26 to 44 months, whose caregivers completed the S-PMV11 method, were gathered from routine pediatric preventive check-ups via the National Database.

The findings indicate the effective scalability of developmental functioning using the Guttman approach, thus enabling the early identification of children at risk. Additionally, the Rasch model confirms the unidimensionality of developmental functioning, highlighting the importance of early intervention addressing.

Despite the instrument’s construct validity, significant concerns arise regarding its ability to capture children with borderline developmental functioning. These concerns could be addressed and improved by simply organizing the items by difficulty level in the pediatric response sheet, allowing the pediatrician to effectively identify any early signs of developmental issues.