The Brief Child and Family Intake and Outcomes System for Infants: Psychometric Characteristics

Abstract

Research has shown that early signs of behaviour problems can be identified in infancy and toddlerhood and, while some of these challenges may resolve over time, often they continue and place children at risk for later mental health problems. To identify infants with early signs of emotional-behavioural problems who may benefit from intervention, psychometrically strong infant mental health measures could be helpful. Unfortunately, measures for assessing infant mental health often cannot be used to assess children under 12 months old or do not comprehensively address clinically-relevant mental health domains in infants. The Brief Child and Family Outcome System for Infants (BCFOSI) is a questionnaire for parents of infants 8 to 17 months old with evidence on its reliability and factor structure and promising preliminary evidence on validity (Niccols et al., 2018). Stability and validity of the BCFIOSI were examined in a community sample of 50 infants at 8-, 14-, and 18-months. Total scale scores demonstrated moderate stability over 4, 6, and 10 months, rs = 0.48, 0.31, and 0.39, respectively, ps < 0.05. Criterion validity correlations with other measures of emotional-behavioural functioning (ASQ:SE, BITSEA, CBCL) were significant at 8, 14, and 18 months, rs = 0.36 to 0.61, ps < 0.05. There were two significant concurrent validity correlations with measures of infant and maternal physiological regulation: 8-month BCFIOSI Total scores and infant vagal withdrawal, r = -0.35, and 8-month BCFIOSI Sleeping and maternal baseline RSA, r = 0.32, ps < 0.05. With regard to maternal behaviour, 8-month BCFIOSI Eating was correlated with observational measures of maternal sensitivity, non-hostility, and structuring, rs = -0.35, -0.44, and -0.28, respectively, ps < 0.05. Measures of parental stress and parenting attitudes also were correlated with 8-month BCFIOSI Total scores, rs = .029 to 0.48, ps < 0.05. Predictive validity was supported by significant longitudinal associations with the CBCL 4 and 10 months later, rs = 0.33 and 0.31, respectively, ps < 0.05. Findings provide additional evidence to support the use of the BCFIOSI with infants at potential risk for later mental health problems who may benefit from intervention.