Achievements of young children on items of the Griffiths scales: 1980 compared with 1960

Abstract

Changes are described in the achievements of children aged 2-8 years on the Griffiths Scales of Mental Development (Extension) between 1960 when the extended scale was introduced and 1980. Satisfactory performance was achieved on the majority of test items at a considerably younger age than in 1960. Two hundred and seventeen children were tested between 1978 and 1982 and compared with 1397 children in the original ''1960'' sample. The mean general quotient of 111.7 for the total 1980 sample is significantly higher than the mean of 100.4 for the 1960 children. Although the numbers of ''1980'' children are relatively small, findings are in agreement with other recent studies which have found average quotients for normal children to be significantly higher than the original norms. Within the overall change in mean score, social class differences were significant. When subscales and different age groups were examined separately, hand-eye coordination and the latter half of the 2nd year were least changed. The importance for clinicians of the ceiling effect of the Griffiths scales is discussed. The present study suggests that for many normal children in their 5th and 6th years the test does not extend far enough for them to reach their true ceiling, making the test of limited use with a significant proportion of children past their 4th birthday.