Predictors of Developmental Screenings for Young Children
type: CreativeWork
description: This study examines the usefulness of the New Model of Children's Health and its Influences for the identification of predictors for health service effectiveness. Health service effectiveness is measured by probability estimations of whether young children receive formal or informal developmental screenings. Screenings lead to prevention of communication delays in later childhood. Formal screenings with standardized questions are preferred over informal screenings, which are knowledgeable observations. The theoretical framework is a child-centered socio-ecological theory that is untested for use in health service effectiveness studies until the present one. Four developmental concepts of the theoretical framework, social environment, physical environment, biological history, and child behavioral history, are tested through secondary analysis of longitudinal data. Multivariate analysis by Cox regression is used to determine whether predictor variables from any of the four conceptual areas of the framework explain young children's receipt of formal or informal screenings. Cox regression is also used to examine the magnitude of differences on probability estimates generated by the predictor variables for the time of formal or informal screening receipt. The results show that the social environment predictors, maternal depression, maternal race, and maternal age and the child behavioral predictor, infant fussiness and irritability are significantly related to formal screening receipt and the model as a whole is significant. The social environment predictor, maternal depression, and the biological history predictor, birth weight, are significantly related to informal screenings and were the sole contributors to the informal model significance as a predictor of screenings. For both models, maternal depression consistently is associated with early screening receipt. Multiple correlation squared (R2) strength of association measures between the models and survival were weak…
abstract: This study examines the usefulness of the New Model of Children's Health and its Influences for the identification of predictors for health service effectiveness. Health service effectiveness is measured by probability estimations of whether young children receive formal or informal developmental screenings. Screenings lead to prevention of communication delays in later childhood. Formal screenings with standardized questions are preferred over informal screenings, which are knowledgeable observations. The theoretical framework is a child-centered socio-ecological theory that is untested for use in health service effectiveness studies until the present one. Four developmental concepts of the theoretical framework, social environment, physical environment, biological history, and child behavioral history, are tested through secondary analysis of longitudinal data. Multivariate analysis by Cox regression is used to determine whether predictor variables from any of the four conceptual areas of the framework explain young children's receipt of formal or informal screenings. Cox regression is also used to examine the magnitude of differences on probability estimates generated by the predictor variables for the time of formal or informal screening receipt. The results show that the social environment predictors, maternal depression, maternal race, and maternal age and the child behavioral predictor, infant fussiness and irritability are significantly related to formal screening receipt and the model as a whole is significant. The social environment predictor, maternal depression, and the biological history predictor, birth weight, are significantly related to informal screenings and were the sole contributors to the informal model significance as a predictor of screenings. For both models, maternal depression consistently is associated with early screening receipt. Multiple correlation squared (R2) strength of association measures between the models and survival were weak…
author: Ranne, Janice Chandler
keywords: Children, Cox regression, Developmental screening, Health service effectiveness, Early Childhood Education, Public Health
date published: 2010-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:34:39Z
provider: Old Dominion University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Old Dominion University