Alberta infant motor scale: Reliability and validity when used on preterm infants in Taiwan

Background and Purpose. The goal of this study was to examine the reliabili ty and validity of measurements obtained with the Alberta Infant Motor Scal e (AIMS) for evaluation of preterm infants in Taiwan. Subjects. Two indepen dent groups of preterm infants were used to investigate the reliability (n= 45) and validity (n=41) for the AIMS. Methods. In the reliability study, th e AIMS was administered to the infants by a physical therapist, and infant performance was videotaped. The performance tvas then rescored by the same therapist and by 2 other therapists to examine the intrarater and interrate r reliability. In the validity study, the AIMS and the Bayley Motor Scale w ere administered to the infants at 6 and 12 months of age to examine criter ion-related validity. Results. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) f or intrarater and interrater reliability of measurements obtained with the AIMS were high (ICC=.97-.99). The AIMS scores correlated with the Bayley Mo tor Scale scores at 6 and 12 months (r = .78 and .90), although the AIMS sc ores at 6 months were only moderately predictive of the motor function at 1 2 months (r = .56). Conclusion and Discussion. The results suggest that mea surements obtained with the AIMS have acceptable reliability and concurrent validity but limited predictive value for evaluating preterm Taiwanese inf ants.