TY - JOUR
T1 - Predictive validity of the Italian parental questionnaire for developmental evaluation at age 4 (QS4-G)
AU - Bevilacqua, Francesca
AU - Giannantoni, Patrizia
AU - Pasqualetti, Patrizio
AU - Di Ciommo, Vincenzo M.
AU - Coletti, Maria Franca
AU - Ravà, Lucilla
AU - Caselli, Maria Cristina
AU - Dall'Oglio, Anna Maria
PY - 2015/6/1
Y1 - 2015/6/1
N2 - Aim To examine whether the results at 4 years of age of the developmental questionnaire QS4-G can predict the outcome of cognitive, neuropsychological and academic abilities 4-6 years later. The QS4-G is a validated parental questionnaire designed for the screening and surveillance of the neuropsychological and behavioural developmental status of 4-year-olds (93 questions). Methods Longitudinal prospective study on a subsample of the QS4-G validation original sample was conducted. According to previous results, the sample was divided into two groups: 'at risk' and 'not at risk'. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and likelihood ratios were assessed and referred to outcomes. Results Thirty-five children were classified as 'not at risk' and 16 as 'at risk'. There were significant associations between past QS4-G score and cognitive, neuropsychological and academic abilities 4-6 years later. With the same cut-off identified at the first cross-sectional study, sensitivity and specificity for difficulties in cognitive development were 90% and 83% while in the neuropsychological abilities 62% and 90%, respectively. A lower predictive validity was found for difficulties in academic abilities (sensitivity 43%, specificity 86%). QS4-G specific area scores showed significant correlations with related academic tests at follow-up (rho range: 0.404-0.565, P <0.005). Conclusions QS4-G shows good predictive validity for cognitive development and neuropsychological abilities. The risk of false negatives for academic abilities can be reduced by analysing the specific area results of QS4-G, which show good correlations with related tests at follow-up.
AB - Aim To examine whether the results at 4 years of age of the developmental questionnaire QS4-G can predict the outcome of cognitive, neuropsychological and academic abilities 4-6 years later. The QS4-G is a validated parental questionnaire designed for the screening and surveillance of the neuropsychological and behavioural developmental status of 4-year-olds (93 questions). Methods Longitudinal prospective study on a subsample of the QS4-G validation original sample was conducted. According to previous results, the sample was divided into two groups: 'at risk' and 'not at risk'. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and likelihood ratios were assessed and referred to outcomes. Results Thirty-five children were classified as 'not at risk' and 16 as 'at risk'. There were significant associations between past QS4-G score and cognitive, neuropsychological and academic abilities 4-6 years later. With the same cut-off identified at the first cross-sectional study, sensitivity and specificity for difficulties in cognitive development were 90% and 83% while in the neuropsychological abilities 62% and 90%, respectively. A lower predictive validity was found for difficulties in academic abilities (sensitivity 43%, specificity 86%). QS4-G specific area scores showed significant correlations with related academic tests at follow-up (rho range: 0.404-0.565, P <0.005). Conclusions QS4-G shows good predictive validity for cognitive development and neuropsychological abilities. The risk of false negatives for academic abilities can be reduced by analysing the specific area results of QS4-G, which show good correlations with related tests at follow-up.
KW - neuropsychological development
KW - parental questionnaire
KW - predictive validity
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U2 - 10.1111/jpc.12784
DO - 10.1111/jpc.12784
M3 - Article
C2 - 25425206
AN - SCOPUS:84930354049
VL - 51
SP - 600
EP - 607
JO - Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
JF - Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
SN - 1034-4810
IS - 6
ER -