Assessment of Preterm Infants' Behavior (APIB): Confirmatory factor analysis of behavioral constructs

Confirmatory analysis was used to specify behavioral domains from results of the Assessment for Preterm Infants' Behavior (APIB). The APIB measures both task performance and quality of performance, which theoretically improves the possibility of discriminating infant functional capacity beyond that obtained by measuring task performance exclusively. We hypothesized that the APIB measures six behavioral domains, including overall modulation of behavior, availability for examination, motor competency, sociability, habituation, and reactivity. The subjects were a medically heterogeneous group of 145 infants who required neonatal intensive care. Data from 157 behavioral and 41 reflex items, out of a possible 280 items, were used. The model was highly acceptable by several practical indices of fit (Bentler-Bonett Normed Fit Index = .994; Bentler-Bonett Nonnormed Fit Index = .999; Comparative Fit Index = .999). The six behavioral constructs are clinically understandable and parsimonious with respect to the behavioral measures included. The results suggest that prerequisites for social interaction of infants requiring neonatal intensive care include both overall modulation and availability, which are unique and distinct from each other and from motor competency and habituation.