Rohlman Diane S, Villanueva-Uy Esterlita, Ramos Essie Ann M, Mateo Patrocinio C, Bielawski Dawn M, Chiodo Lisa M, Delaney-Black Virginia, McCauley Linda, Ostrea Enrique M
Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET), L606, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
Neurotoxicology. 2008 Jan;29(1):143-51. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2007.10.006. Epub 2007 Oct 23.
Neurobehavioral tests have long been used to assess health effects in exposed working adult populations. The heightened concern over the potential impact of environmental exposures on neurological functioning in children has led to the development of test batteries for use with children. There is a need for reliable, easy-to-administer batteries to assess neurotoxic exposure in children. One such test battery previously validated with Spanish- and English-speaking children ages 4 and older, combines computerized tests from the Behavioral Assessment and Research System (BARS) with non-computerized tests. The goal of the present study was to determine the feasibility of using standardized neurobehavioral tests in preschool and school-aged Filipino children. Test instructions were translated into the vernacular, Tagalog or Tagalog-English ("Taglish") and some instructions and materials were modified to be appropriate for the target populations. The battery was administered to 4-6-year-old Filipino children (N=50). The performance of the Filipino children was compared to data previously collected from Spanish- and English-speaking children tested in the US. The majority of children had no difficulty completing the tests in the battery with the exception of the Symbol-Digit test and Digit Span-reverse. The three groups showed similar patterns of performance on the tests and the older children performed better than the younger children on all of the tests. The findings from this study demonstrate the utility of using this test battery to assess cognitive and motor performance in Filipino children. Tests in the battery assess a range of functions and the measures are sensitive to age differences. The current battery has been utilized in several cultures and socio-economic status classes, with only minor modifications needed. This study demonstrates the importance of pilot testing the methods before use in a new population, to ensure that the test is valid for that culture.
长期以来，神经行为测试一直用于评估成年在职人群接触环境因素后的健康影响。由于人们越来越担心环境暴露对儿童神经功能的潜在影响，因此开发了适用于儿童的测试组合。需要可靠且易于实施的测试组合来评估儿童的神经毒性暴露情况。一种先前已在4岁及以上说西班牙语和英语的儿童中得到验证的测试组合，将行为评估与研究系统（BARS）中的计算机化测试与非计算机化测试结合在一起。本研究的目的是确定在菲律宾学龄前和学龄儿童中使用标准化神经行为测试的可行性。测试说明被翻译成当地语言他加禄语或他加禄语-英语（“他加英混合语”），并对一些说明和材料进行了修改，以适合目标人群。该测试组合应用于4至6岁的菲律宾儿童（N = 50）。将菲律宾儿童的测试表现与之前在美国对说西班牙语和英语的儿童进行测试所收集的数据进行比较。除符号数字测试和数字广度倒序测试外，大多数儿童在完成测试组合中的测试时没有困难。三组在测试中的表现模式相似，并且在所有测试中，年龄较大的儿童表现优于年龄较小的儿童。本研究结果证明了使用该测试组合评估菲律宾儿童认知和运动表现的实用性。测试组合中的测试评估了一系列功能，并且这些测量对年龄差异敏感。目前的测试组合已在多种文化和社会经济阶层中使用，只需进行少量修改。这项研究证明了在新人群中使用之前对方法进行预测试的重要性，以确保测试对该文化有效。
