The uses and predictive limitations of intelligence tests in infants and young children.

The author was asked by the World Health Organization to examine whether appraisals of intelligence of infants and young children show enough predictive validity to be dependable criteria on which to base adoption policy. Studies have shown that mental-test performances by children under 6 years of age have little predictive significance, although reasonable prediction may be made in about 37% of cases at the age of 6 years. Moreover, too much importance should not be given to the tested intelligence of parents, particularly those tested under stress, unless their intelligence quotients are over 90; it provides, however, a better guide, taken alone, than do the tests on infants alone. Tests on infants should be considered together with those on the parents and with a number of other factors, including a full developmental history of the child, its health record, and the results of a medical and neurological examination. The author concludes by saying that the major emphasis in adoption should perhaps be placed on the needs of the adopting parents; those who would only respond to a child of high ability should be urged not to adopt an infant but rather a child who has reached an age where prediction can be more accurate.