Early Predictors of Referral for Special Services: Child-Based Measures Versus Mother-Child Interaction

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Abstract
This study examined the extent to which global ratings of mother-child interaction assessed at 42 months and an estimate of child intelligence assessed at 64 months were related to referrals for specialized help in the first 3 years of school in a sample of 151 low income children. There were significant differences between referred and non-referred children on ratings of interaction and the estimate of child intelligence. When the estimate of child intelligence and the ratings of interaction were used separately to predict referral, comparison with children actually found within the referred and non-referred group indicated an overlap of approximately 75%. When data from the two procedures were combined, child compliance and child intelligence were the two most significant predictors of group membership. A large percentage of false positives were obtained in each of the classification procedures. Follow up analyses examined the exceptions to prediction. Results are discussed in terms of directions for future research.