Date Approved

2022

Degree Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department or School

Psychology

Committee Member

Renée Lajiness-O’Neill, Ph.D., Chair

Committee Member

Angela D. Staples, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Catherine C. Peterson, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jennifer C. G. Larson, Ph.D.

Abstract

Imitation has pervasive associations with social and communicative development. However, few methods have been developed to measure this construct in typically developing infants, and even fewer are available for atypical populations, such as infants born preterm. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a particular risk of premature birth, is associated with atypical imitation and social communication. Although imitation emerges in infancy, most current screening and diagnostic tools for ASD cannot be utilized prior to 12 months. The present study aimed to develop and validate a caregiver-report measure of infant imitation; characterize imitation profiles at 4, 6, and 9 months in term and preterm infants; and explore the relationship between imitation and scores on an ASD screener (M-CHAT-R/F) at 18 months. Participants (N = 571) were recruited from a larger multi-site study of PediaTrac™ v3.0, a web-based tool for monitoring and tracking infant development. Caregivers completed online surveys as well as reliable and validated pen-and-paper questionnaires every two or three months from birth to 18 months. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses resulted in four items being retained at the 4-month period, three items at 6 months, and five items at 9 months. Results revealed convergent and discriminant validity of all three factors through correlations with established measures of infant communication (CSBS; ASQ) and sleep (BISQ), respectively. Strict measurement invariance was demonstrated for the 4- and 9-month factors, and metric invariance for the 6- month measure. Full-term infants scored higher than preterm infants on imitation at 9 months, though this was interrelated with term status differences in sensorimotor skills. Lastly, the 9- month imitation factor predicted 18-month ASD risk in combination with sensorimotor skills and over and above gestational age. Implications for assessment of infant imitation, term status differences in imitation development, and decreasing the earliest age of ASD risk detection are discussed.

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