Cultural differences in infant development during the first year: A study of Danish infants assessed by the Bayley-III and compared to the American norms

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine whether significant developmental differences existed between a Danish sample of infants and the American norms as measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development–III. Longitudinal data was collected at 4, 7, 10 and 13 months for 45 Danish infants. The results showed significant differences between scores of the Danish infants and the American norms regarding cognitive, language and motor functioning. Specifically, Danish infants were at all ages of assessment significantly delayed in their development of receptive language when compared to the American norms. One explanation for this is suggested to be the nature of Danish sound structure which makes Danish harder to learn. The results of the present study underline the need to be cautious when using developmental scales in countries where no local norms exist.

Keywords :

• Infant development
• Cultural differences
• Bayley-III
• Norms
• Language