Measuring Developmental Differences With an Age-of-Attainment Method

Bibliographic Data

ID16915648
AuthorsWarren O Eaton (University of Manitoba), Jennifer L Bodnarchuk (University of Manitoba), Nancy A McKeen (University of Manitoba)
Year2014
Volume4
Issue2
Publication date2014-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSAGE Open (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/2158244014529775
OpenAlexW2106116343
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited18

The sensitive measurement of variation in rate of attainment is an underutilized but useful indicator of individual differences in development. To assess such individuality, we used longitudinal parental diary checklists of infant attainments to estimate the ages at which ubiquitous developmental milestones like sitting and walking were reached. Parents using this diary checklist have been shown to be valid reporters of milestone attainments. Present analyses show that multiple definitions of milestone onset have high reliability as well. Babies differ considerably in their rates of development, and such individual differences in rates may be predicted from other variables with survival (event history) analysis. Ages of attainment for sustained sitting, crawling, and walking were calculated for 519 infants and predicted using 11 common covariates. Our discovery that babies of younger mothers reach these milestones sooner than those of older mothers reveals the value of an age-of-attainment (AOA) approach. A framework with a SAS program for collecting and analyzing AOA data is presented

Checklist · Cognitive psychology · Developmental Milestone · Developmental psychology · Educational attainment · Geography · Longitudinal study · Milestone · Statistics · Birth, Development, and Health · Cognitive Abilities and Testing · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Psychology

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