Purpose: The aims of this study were (a) to validate the wideband acoustic immittance (WAI) model developed by Myers et al. (2018a) in a new sample of neonates and (b) to develop a prediction model for diagnosing middle ear dysfunction in infants aged 6-18 months using wideband absorbance, controlling for the effect of age. Method: Tympanometry,…

Valid indigenous language assessments are needed to further our understanding of how children learn language around the world. We assessed the psychometric properties and performance of two caregiver-report measures of Wolof language skill (language milestones achieved and vocabulary knowledge) for 500 children (ages 0;4 to 2;6) living in rural…

We develop a model of induced innovation that applies to medical research. Our model yields three empirical predictions. First, initial death rates and subsequent research effort should be positively correlated. Second, research effort should be associated with more rapid mortality declines. Third, as a byproduct of targeting the most common…

Discusses the role and limitations of the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale in the continuing effort to construct an adequate account of infant development. (BH)

Evaluates objective/subjective factor model of parent reports of child characteristcs. A total of 27 mother-report scales were collected when children were 6, l3, 24, and 36 months old; scales measured various contructs of temperament, mother-child relationship, child competence, and problem behavior. Factor analysis of scales indicated that…

This study formulated a multivariate model of early infant competence from variables representing a transactional perspective of developing competence in early infancy. The measures used in the competence model were: birth weight; habituation index; personality ratings of the infants' social orientation and task orientation; ratings of maternal…

Measures of physical, mental, and social components of health status and general health ratings were studied for children ages 0-4 (N=679) and 5-13 (N=1473). Questionnaires were completed by adult proxies (usually mothers) in three generally healthy populations. Hypothesized multi-item scales were tested; reliability was estimated and preliminary…

Reviews issues of reliability (especially test-retest reliability) in newborn assessment, discusses predictive models based on newborn assessment, and presents information on modifications of the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale which may help in pursuing fruitful questions involving prediction of development. (Author/BH)