Cross-cultural adaptation, validation, and reliability of the child development evaluation test (EDI) in Colombia

Luisa M. Salamanca-Duque, Human Movement Department, Universidad Autónoma de Manizales, Manizales, Colombia
Ma. Mercedes Del C. Naranjo-Aristizábal, Human Movement Department, Universidad Autónoma de Manizales, Manizales, Colombia
Luz A. Botero-Montoya, Executive Direction, Fundación de Atención a la Niñez, Medellín, Colombia
Luz Ma. Velásquez-Palacio, Executive Direction, Fundación de Atención a la Niñez, Medellín, Colombia
Sandra Garnica-López, Executive Direction, Fundación de Atención a la Niñez, Medellín, Colombia
Ma. Angélica Enciso-Rodríguez, Executive Direction, Fundación de Atención a la Niñez, Medellín, Colombia
Yadira Henao-Valencia, Executive Direction, Fundación de Atención a la Niñez, Medellín, Colombia
Antonio Rizzoli-Córdoba, Servicio de Pediatría del Desarrollo y la Conducta, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, Mexico City, Mexico

Background: Monitoring child development requires not only the determination of developmental milestones but also surveillance and continuous monitoring, hence the importance of having valid and reliable evaluation instruments. This research aimed to cross-culturally adapt the Child Development Evaluation (CDE) test for Colombia and determine its validity and reliability. Methods: The cross-cultural adaptation process was conducted in four phases: I. Adaptation to Colombian Spanish: adjustments of the test to Colombian Spanish and analysis of equivalences; II. Content and face validity: evaluation by five expert judges who performed quantitative and qualitative assessments of the test; III. Review by the original author; IV. Pilot test. Reliability analyses for internal consistency and intra-rater reliability were performed. Results: For the adaptation to Colombian Spanish, most test items were equivalent to Mexican Spanish, with some requiring minimal conceptual and contextual changes to maintain their meaning; culturally relevant formulations and expressions were adjusted. In the content and face validity assessment, adequate results were found regarding the importance, influence, and observability of the items. Internal consistency reliability was moderate, with Cronbach’s α values between 0.41 and 0.57, and intra-rater reliability was very good, with Kappa index values > 0.76. Conclusion: The CDE test demonstrates cross-cultural adaptation, content and face validity, and reliability for its application and use in Colombia.

Keywords: Child development. Surveys and questionnaires. Cross-cultural comparison. Reproducibility of results. Validation study.