Adaptation of the mullen scales of early learning to benin setting.

Abstract

The Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) were designed in the US to assess child development from birth to 68 months. It has never been used in Benin. Our goal was to check its use in one year old Beninese infants, a Francophone country by studying the links between MSEL scores and known risk factors for poor child development. The MSEL was translated and back translated into French. Nurses, led by a psychologist, were trained to administer it in a cross-sectional study in Allada, a semi rural district between April and December 2011. Infant development was assessed using the MSEL at local health centers followed by a home visit to collect information on socio-economic status, non-verbal maternal intellectual quotient (Raven matrix), maternal depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Post Partum Depression Scale, EPDS), and mother-child interactions using the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory. Three hundred and fifty seven children aged 12 months and their mothers were included. The Mullen composite score was lower in boys (96.9 +/- 1.0) compared to girls (99.7 +/- 1.0) (borderline significance, P = 0.05). Receptive Language similarly was lower in boys (45.0 +/- 0.5) than in girls (46.5 +/- 0.5) (P = 0.03). The HOME inventory score was significantly correlated with the Mullen composite score (0.20, P < 0.001), Gross Motor (0.17, P = 0.001), Visual Reception (0.18, P = 0.001), Fine Motor (0.12, P = 0.02), Receptive Language (0.14, P = 0.01) and Expressive Language scores (0.15, P = 0.01). Socio economic status and the Raven matrix score were related to the Mullen composite score (P = 0.03 and P = 0.003, respectively) but no correlation was found between EPDS score and MSEL scores. The Mullen was sensitive to other quality of home environment and caregiving factors known to influence developmental outcomes in children. Therefore, it is a useful test for providing such outcomes in francophone West Africa.