The Denver Developmental Screening Test was introduced in 1967 to identify young children, up to age six, with developmental problems. A revised version.

Educ., Iwate Univ., Vol.52 No.1 (Oct.1992) 187`194 A Cross-Cultural Study of the Denver Prescreening QuestionnaireAZUMA* June 15,1992) DevelopmentalNoriaki (Received Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the variation of the scores of the DPDQ by different cultural factors, especially the urban and weather factors. Another purpose of this study is to compare the scores of the DPDQ in a rural village and an urban city with those in Tokyo and the Yaeyama Islands. In summer, the scores of the DPDQ in a rural village were significantly lower than those in an urban city. But in winter, the scores of the DPDQ in a rural village did not differ significantly from those in an urban city. The reason was the difference of the mothers' life between a rural village and an urban city.

In summer and winter, the scores of the DPDQ in a rural village, an urban city, Tokyo and the Yaeyama islands differed significantly. The reasons were that the persons who answered the DPDQ and the places where it was administered varied widely. When we evaluate child development by using the DPDQ, we need to consider these factors. Key words: CULTURE, DENVER, URBAN, WEATHER DEVELOPMENT, RURAL, SCREENING, Introduction There are various cross-cultural studies of the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST). (Sandier et al. 1970, Barnes and Stark 1975, Solomons and Solomons 1975, Ueda 1978, Jaffe et al.

1980, Olade 1984, Shapira and Harel 1983, Olade 1984, Williams 1984, Burke et al. 1985) The results of these studies about the validity and reliability of the DDST are mixed.

One questionnaire which was transformed from the DDST is called the Denver* Faculty of Education, Iwate University, Ueda, Morioka 020. 188 Noriaki AZUMA Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire (DPDQ). When I researched the DIALOG data-base using the key-word 'Denver Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire' for the files ERIC '66-'89 Aug, BIOSIS PREVIEWS '69-'89 Sep, EMBASE '74-'89, PASCAL '86-'89 Jul, MEDLINE '66-'89 NOV,PSYCINFO '67-'89 Aug, MENTAL HEALTH ABSTRACTS '69-'89 Jun, FAMILY RESOURCES '70-'89 Sep, Health Planning and Administration '75'89 Oct, I could find five journal articles about the DPDQ. (Frankenburg et al. 1976, Fleming 1981, Rosembaum et al.

1983, Scheiner et al. 1985, Frankenburg et al. 1987) Among these five journal articles there was only one cross-cultural study about the DPDQ. (Rosembaurn et al.

1983) In this study the DPDQ was applied in a low-income population in Alabama, U.S.A. Not only inside of Japan but also outside of Japan there was no cross-cultural study about the DPDQ comparing a rural village with an urban city. When Ueda standardized the DDST in Japan, she revised it by considering different cultural factors, urban and weather factors. The purpose of this study is to examine the variation of the DPDQ scores by different cultural factors, especially urban and weather factors.