Relations between infant behavior ratings and concurrent and subsequent mental test scores

The present study examined the relationship between infant behaviors, as assessed by the Bayley Infant Behavior Record (IBR), and measures of intellectual functioning. Such an analysis had previously been reporter by Matheny, Dolan, and Wilson (1974), who found IBR ratings to cluster into categories of Primary Cognition and Extraversion. Of these, better prediction was afforded by the Primary Cognition scores. The present study attempted to replicate the Matheny, et al. (197L) study, and to suggest methodological revisions which it was predicted would yield a more meaningful data analysis. Subjects of the present study were 125 lower socioeconomic status, Mexican-American infants. Of these, 64 were male, and 61 were female. All were participants in the Houston ParentChild Development Center program. All the subjects were administered the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 12 and 24 months, while 32 males and 34 fer ..les were administered the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Forms L-M at 36 months. Results indicated that when behavioral clusters were derived in the fashion employed by Matheny et al. (1974) similar findings emerged from the correlational analyses, with the exception of somewhat higher prediction from Extraversion scores in the present than the previous report. However, when behavioral factors were derived by a principal components analysis it was found that five factors which differed substantially in structure from the composites proposed by Matheny et al. (1974) emerged from the analysis. In addition, multiple regression analyses revealed that neither the principal components factor scores nor the Primary Cognition and Extraversion composite scores added significantly to prediction of subsequent mental performance beyond what was afforded by 12 month Bayley Mental Test (MDI) scores. It was, therefore, concluded that although infant behaviors during testing do appear to be significantly related to both concurrent and subsequent mental test performance, the usefulness of IBR ratings in conjunction with Bayley MDI scores is not supported.