J Nurs Acad Soc.  1983 Dec;13(3):34-50.

A study on the developmental status of children in choman area according to the Denver Developmental Screening Test

• Kim M

Abstract

The Denver Developmental Screening Test was devised to provide a simple method of evaluating the developmental status of infants and preschool children. To assess the development of Korean children, 667 children (390 boys and 277 girls) between the ages of 2 weeks and 6 years who live in Kwangju city and rural areas in Chonnam were examined according to the DDST. The ages at which 25%, 50%, 75%, and 90% of the children performed each item were calculated for the entire sample. The results of these were compared with the norms of Denver children and other related previous studies in Korea. The development of the boys was also compared with that of the girls, and further the test results of city children and country children were also compared. Girls performed the DDST items in personal-social, fine motor-adaptive and gross motor sectors slightly earlier than boys. In general, however, there were no significant differences in the developmental rate between boys and girls. In all four sectors of the DDST, urban children performed the items significantly earlier than rural children. In comparing Korean children and Denver children, Korean children tended to perform gross motor and personal-social items at a slightly earlier age than Denver children. In the language sector, Denver children tended to perform a little earlier than Korean children. But on the whole there were no significant differences in developmental status between Korean and Denver children. It should be noted that a few items, such as "Uses plurals", needed to be changed due to the structure of Korean language.

MeSH Terms

Child*
Child, Preschool
Female
Gwangju
Humans
Infant
Jeollanam-do
Korea
Mass Screening*