Desenvolvimento linguístico de crianças de Belém: associação com características pessoais e ambientais

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the profile neurodevelopmental status of children enrolled in preschools in Belém, with a focus in language, according to the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST), with this purpose, two studies, both quantitative and cross-sectional, with descriptive and exploratory were performed. The first one investigated the neurodevelopmental profile of children, according to their presence in the Administrative Districts of Belém. The score on DDST was assessed, and their neurodevelopmental status (normal or delay) and distribution on the districts were described. The second study examined the associations between the score of language, according to DDST, with the personal and contextual variables. For both studies, 319 children from elementary schools were selected, from August to December 2012. For assessment of development the DDST was applied. The instruments were a questionnaire administered to parents to collect personal, contextual and family data and an instrument to measure the level of family poverty. The results of the first study indicated that 77.7 % of potential developmental suspected delay and 59.2% of potential delay in language. The level of family poverty variable showed a statistically significant association with development score (p=0.011) and language (p=0.003). The results of the second study indicates that 59.2% delay were associated with language. The variables that showed a statistically significant relationship with language development were paternal education (p=0.003), maternal age (p=0.03) and family poverty level (p=0.003). The high prevalence of suspected delay in the development at the children highlights the need of implementation of programs to stimulated and monitor the infant development, using instruments such as the DDST. In addition, alert to the poses of risk factors that may interfere with the neurodevelopment in early years.