Psychometric properties of the scale NBAS applied to preterm or low birth weight

Objective: to assess, in a randomized sample of measurements made with the NBAS scale, inpreterm and / or low birth weight babies, some psychometric characteristics of the same as herconstruct validity and internal consistency. Materials and methods: we designed a study of assessmentof Psychometric properties. From a study of cross-sectional measurements, there weremade assessment of the statistic behavior of the items, individually and in their internal consistency,then, there were carried out, type exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Results:we find that, in the analysis of preterm or low birth weight babies, the scale remains largely, theoverall structure of factors proposed since 1982, in relation to the dimensions of habituation,social interactive and complementary. The items that make up the dimensions of SNA and motorsystems are integrated. Also, we found Cronbach alpha values for internal consistency, whichreflects higher to medium correlation levels in the behavioral and reflex items. Conclusion: theNBAS scale reflects characteristics of construct validity and internal consistency, which creditsit as a useful tool in clinical assessment of neurodevelopmental effects of preterm or low birthweight babies. It is necessary to analyze the structure of the scale when used for purposes ofscientific research.