51 PATTERNS OF PREfHCTEI) r1!:ASURES OF THE INFANT'S ENVIRONMENT Donna Bryant and !1argaret Burchinal The purpose of this study is to investigate the associations that may exist among variables measured in infancy and patterns of later intellectual outcome. Subjects were 64 infants from low-income families who had been randomly assigned at birth to 1 of 3 conditions: daycare plus family education, family education alone, or a control group. Five key variables measured during infancy were used to predict Stanford-Binet scores at 2, 3, and 4 years:of age, the average level of intellectual scores and the pattern of change across time. The set of predictors chosen included mother's IQ, treatment group membership, and measures of the infant's home environment, family stress level, and availability of supports. The set of infancy predictors was significantly related to the average developmental score across the early childhood years and the pattern of change across time. The home measure and daycare attendance contributed most to the prediction. That is, knowing some key early measures of the infant's family, the quality of the home environment, allowed for a prediction of the pattern of later intellectual scores ikely to be obtained by high-risk children, as well s a prediction of scores at anyone time. Discussion will focus on why those relationships re significant and how changes in patterns of perforance may be explained by a systems model of developent that has been guiding this research.

Patterns of development predicted from measures of the infant's environment

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Page 1: Patterns of development predicted from measures of the infant's environment

PATTERNS OF !)EVELOP~1ENT PREfHCTEI) FRO~1 r1!:ASURES OFTHE INFANT'S ENVIRONMENT

Donna Bryant and !1argaret Burchinal

The purpose of this study is to investigate theassociations that may exist among variables measuredin infancy and patterns of later intellectual outcome.Subjects were 64 infants from low-income families whohad been randomly assigned at birth to 1 of 3conditions: daycare plus family education, familyeducation alone, or a control group.

Five key variables measured during infancy wereused to predict Stanford-Binet scores at 2, 3, and 4years:of age, the average level of intellectual scoresand the pattern of change across time. The set ofpredictors chosen included mother's IQ, treatmentgroup membership, and measures of the infant's homeenvironment, family stress level, and availability ofsupports.

The set of infancy predictors was significantlyrelated to the average developmental score across theearly childhood years and the pattern of change acrosstime. The home measure and daycare attendance contributed most to the prediction. That is, knowing somekey early measures of the infant's family, ~articularl

the quality of the home environment, allowed for aprediction of the pattern of later intellectual scoresikely to be obtained by high-risk children, as wells a prediction of scores at anyone time.

Discussion will focus on why those relationshipsre significant and how changes in patterns of perforance may be explained by a systems model of developent that has been guiding this research.