[Psychomotor development of children from Chilean and Haitian parents in kindergartens of the district of Coquimbo, Chile: A descriptive study].

INTRODUCTION

This study aims to describe the psychomotor development of children, the offspring of Chilean and Haitian parents, and who attend the local kindergartens.

METHODS

The design of this study was a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The study population was children 3 to 24 months-old, belonging to kindergartens, evaluated with the Psychomotor Development Assessment Scale (EEDP) regarding psychomotor development profile for the domains of language, socialization, coordination, and motor skills. A questionnaire was administered to the parents to determine the socioeconomic level, educational level, and parenting skills.

RESULTS

Twenty-four infants, 12 children of Chilean parents, and 12 children of Haitian parents were evaluated. The EEDP classification (p = 0.299) did not show significant differences between both groups. In children of Chilean parents, 25% (3/12) classified as delay, while 75% (9/12) as normal. On the other hand, for children of Haitian parents, 8.3% (1/12) classified as risk, while 91.7% (11/12) as normal. There are significant differences in coordination (p = 0.006), in which Haitian children achieved better performance compared to the Chilean.

CONCLUSIONS

It is necessary to emphasize every domain of infant psychomotor development and the multiple sociocultural variables that can influence this. Current evaluation methods do not presently have an intercultural character.