Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate prevalence of developmental problems and relationship with socio-demographic variables in a community sample of young children.
Method: Participants included 1000 children (558 males, 442 females, age range 1-48 months, mean 18.4 months, SD 7.8 months). Children were referred generally by their parents for developmental evaluation and consultation in response to a public announcement in a district area of Istanbul, Turkey. An interview form and Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DSST) were used for socio-demographic data and developmental evaluation. The χ2 test and Pearson correlation were used for data analysis.
Results: 741 out of 1000 children (74.1%) had normal, 140 (14%) had risky and 119 (11.9%) had abnormal findings on DDST results. The probability of abnormal on DDST results was significantly higher in males (p=0.003), 2-4 year-old group (p<0.05), families with more than one child (p=0.001), consanguineous marriages (p<0.01), low parental educational levels and low household income (p<0.01), and in children without a history of breastfeeding (p=0.000). Immigration status and mode of delivery did not have a significant effect on the probability of abnormal DDST results (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Socio-demographic factors have noteworthy impacts on development. Determining these factors is important especially during the first years of life.