Validation of motor, cognitive, language, and socio-emotional subscales using the Caregiver Reported Early Development Instruments: An application of multidimensional item factor analysis

Abstract

The Caregiver Reported Early Development Instruments (CREDI) are assessments tools for measuring the development of children under age three in global contexts. The present study describes the construction and psychometric properties of the motor, cognitive, language, and socio-emotional subscales from the CREDI’s long form. Multidimensional item factor analysis was employed, allowing indicators of child development to simultaneously load onto multiple factors representing distinct developmental domains. A total of 14,113 caregiver reports representing 17 low-, middle-, and high-income countries were analyzed. Criterion-related validity of the constructed subscales was tested in a subset of participants using data from previously established instruments, anthropometric data, and a measure of child stimulation. We also report internal-consistency reliability and test–retest reliability statistics. Results from our analysis suggest that the CREDI subscales display adequate reliability for population-level measurement, as well as evidence of validity.

Measuring early childhood development: considerations and evidence regarding the Caregiver Reported Early Development Instruments

“…With regard to validity, multidimensional item factor analyses applied to the original multicountry validation sample revealed evidence of construct validity of the CREDI's long form. 11 In particular, a fourfactor model with item cross-loadings was found to be the best fit for the data. This work not only suggests that the CREDI is appropriately able to capture the four distinct but correlated domains of children's motor, language, cognitive, and social-emotional functioning but also demonstrates the broader utility of multidimensional scoring approaches that allow for the fact that young children's behaviors are often reflective of multiple underlying skills.…”

“…First, studies have shown robust evidence for the internal consistency of the CREDI's short-and long-form scores, with Cronbach's alpha values typically hovering around 0.80. 10,11,[15][16][17] Second, evidence from a subset of participants and settings has shown evidence for the CREDI's testretest reliability over an approximately 7-to 10-day period. 10,11 Indeed, sufficient stability in participant responses was considered a criterion for individual items' inclusion in the final version of the CREDI.…”

“…Further information on the multiphase process used to develop the CREDI is available elsewhere. 10,11…”

“…There is also evidence to support the CREDI's discriminant validity, including expected variation in CREDI scores based on children's age, 10,11,[15][16][17] sex, 10,[16][17][18] anthropometric status, 10,11,17 disability status, 17 household socioeconomic status, 10,15,16 caregiver education level, 10,15,17 receipt of stimulation at home, 10,11,[15][16][17][18] and experiences of physical punishment 18 across a wide variety of contexts. Finally, several studies have shown evidence for the criterion validity of the CREDI in comparison to other widely used measures of ECD.…”

“…Although this work has typically focused on smaller numbers of children in select contexts, it has demonstrated positive associations between the CREDI and different direct assessment and caregiver-reported tools, including the BSID (China, Pakistan, and Tanzania), 10,11,16,17 the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (Chile and China), 10,11,16 the MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventory (Chile), 10,11 the INTERGROWTH Neurodevelopmental Assessment (Zambia), 10,11 and the Inter-American Development Bank's Regional Project on Child Development Indicators (Brazil). 10,11,15 Evidence on the CREDI's reliability largely falls into two areas. First, studies have shown robust evidence for the internal consistency of the CREDI's short-and long-form scores, with Cronbach's alpha values typically hovering around 0.80.…”