Validity of Minnesota Child Development Inventory in Screening Young Children's Developmental Status

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Abstract
This study sought to determine the validity and clinical utility of the Minnesota Child Development Inventory (MCDI) as a developmental screening instrument. An unselectedsample of 89-98 middle-class preschoolers was longitudinally followed from 30 to 42 months of age. Mothers filled out the MCDI at 30 months and the McCarthy Scales were administered to the children at 30, 36, and 42 months. The major results showed positive, moderate, and highly significant correlations between the General Development and Language scales of the MCDI and all of the cognitive scales of the McCarthy at the three ages. A prediction-performance matrix analysis revealed that mothers' reports on the MCDI General Development scale were accurate in identifying the general cognitive developmental status of individual children with respect to being normal or below. The findings demonstrate that these scales of the MCDI are valid and clinically useful for screening young children's cognitive developmental status.