Presidential Address. Prediction of Function From Infancy to Early Childhood: Implications for Pediatric Psychology

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether item groupings derived from the Bayley Infant Neurodevelopmental Screener (BINS) are stable and predictive of 36-month cognitive and motor outcome. METHODS: BINS was administered at 6, 12, and 24 months, and the Bayley-II or McCarthy scales at 36 months. The BINS was factor analyzed, and factors, biomedical and environmental variables, were related to 36-month outcomes. RESULTS: Three factors were identified at each age, accounting for 52% to 64% of the variance. Continuity in factors over infancy and predictive utility of similar functions at 36 months were found. Optimal factor scores (> or = 75th percentile) increased the likelihood of later normal cognitive or motor outcome (ORs 2.14-7.94). CONCLUSIONS: Stability and continuity over time exist in specific subdomains of function on a neurodevelopmental screening test.