Development of the Korean Developmental Screening Test for Infants and Children (K-DST).

Abstract

Background Most developmental screening tools in Korea are adopted from foreign tests. To ensure efficient screening of infants and children in Korea, a nationwide screening tool with high reliability and validity is needed.Purpose This study aimed to independently develop, standardize, and validate the Korean Developmental Screening Test for Infants and Children (K-DST) for screening infants and children for neurodevelopmental disorders in Korea.Methods The standardization and validation conducted in 2012–2014 of 3,284 subjects (4–71 months of age) resulted in the first edition of the K-DST. The restandardization and revalidation performed in 2015–2016 of 3.06 million attendees of the National Health Screening Program for Infants and Children resulted in the revised K-DST. We analyzed inter-item consistency and test-retest reliability for the reliability analysis. Regarding the validation of K-DST, we examined the construct validity, sensitivity and specificity, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, and a criterion-related validity analysis.Results We ultimately selected 8 questions in 6 developmental domains. For most age groups and each domain, internal consistency was 0.73–0.93 and test-retest reliability was 0.77–0.88. The revised K-DST had high discriminatory ability with a sensitivity of 0.833 and specificity of 0.979. The test supported construct validity by distinguishing between normal and neurodevelopmentally delayed groups. The language and cognition domain of the revised K-DST was highly correlated with the K-Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II’s Mental Age Quotient (r=0.766, 0.739), while the gross and fine motor domains were highly correlated with Motor Age Quotient (r=0.695, 0.668), respectively. The Verbal Intelligence Quotient of Korean Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence was highly correlated with the K-DST cognition and language domains (r=0.701, 0.770), as was the performance intelligence quotient with the fine motor domain (r=0.700).Conclusion The K-DST is reliable and valid, suggesting its good potential as an effective screening tool for infants and children with neurodevelopmental disorders in Korea.