Alternative approaches to clustering and scoring the Bayley infant behavior record

Abstract

One hundred eighty three black, low-income infants were assessed on the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) at 12 months and on the Bayley Mental Development Index (MDI) and Infant Behavior Record (IBR) at 13 months. Ninety infants were retested at 25 months. Factor analysis of the IBR at 13 months yielded three factors similar in content to those found for middle-class infants by Matheny (1980). A comparison of the two sets of clusters—one derived from Matheny, the other from this study—indicated that the Matheny (1980) attention cluster was the strongest predictor of 25-month MDI and the only one to add significantly to 13-month MDI in predicting 25-month MDI. Although clusters relating to affect and arousal related to HOME scores, attention did not, suggesting that attention may be more constitutionally than environmentally based. Analyses of suspect ratings demonstrated the validity of this approach and indicated high suspect ratings for this sample on hyporeactivity.