Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jul 28:80:102110.
doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2025.102110. Online ahead of print.

Development and validation of the NIH Baby Toolbox Social-Emotional Functioning measures

Courtney K Blackwell  1 , Cindy J Nowinski  2 , Amy Wetherby  3 , Jessica A Sommerville  4 , Christina Bethell  5 , Lauren Wakschlag  6 , Jessica L Hooker  3 , Maxwell Mansolf  2 , Y Catherine Han  2 , Elizabeth M Dworak  2 , Vitali Ustsinovich  2 , Aaron J Kaat  2 , Richard Gershon  2
Affiliations

Development and validation of the NIH Baby Toolbox Social-Emotional Functioning measures

Courtney K Blackwell et al. Infant Behav Dev. .

Abstract

Social-emotional functioning is foundational for children's healthy development and lifelong well-being. The NIH Toolbox for Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Function (NIH Toolbox®) includes social-emotional measures for ages 3 and older, leaving a gap for assessing very young children. The new NIH Baby Toolbox directly addresses this measurement gap through its developmentally sensitive, tablet-based assessments of infant and toddler social-emotional functioning. This paper describes the domain conceptualization, measure selection, and psychometric evaluation of the Baby Toolbox Social-Emotional Functioning measures. Through an expert survey and literature review on conceptual frameworks, definitions, and existing measures, six subdomains were identified: Temperament, Negative Affect, Psychological Well-Being, Self-Regulation, Social Communication, and Social Relationships. Specific measures were selected from existing instruments/paradigms and adapted for iPad administration. They include the Infant, Early Childhood, and Childhood Behavior Questionnaire very short forms; the Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) Early Childhood Parent Report Anger/Irritability, Anxiety, Depressive Symptoms, Positive Affect, Flexibility, Frustration Tolerance, Child-Caregiver Interactions, and Peer Relationships; and the newly developed Social Observation Measure and Caregiver Checklist. Social-Emotional Functioning Measures were validated and normed with 2398 US children (n = 2021 English, n = 377 Spanish) aged 3-48 months using classical and modern test theory. Measures had moderate to high internal and test-retest reliability. Small to moderate intradomain correlations suggest each measure captured related, but unique, components; interdomain associations showed subdomains were distinct. Associations with existing measures supported construct validity. Overall, the Baby Toolbox Social-Emotional Functioning assessments provide reliable, valid, and nationally normed assessments for researchers and clinicians to evaluate infant and toddler social-emotional functioning in a practical and meaningful way.

Keywords: Assessment; NIH Baby Toolbox; Social-emotional functioning.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • NIH Baby Toolbox® methodology and norms development.
    Han YC, Dworak EM, Mansolf M, Adam H, Yao L, Novack MA, Pila S, Flynn RM, Flagg AM, Ustsinovich V, Savio K, Byrne GJ, Gershon RC, Kaat AJ. Han YC, et al. Infant Behav Dev. 2025 Jul 30;80:102117. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2025.102117. Online ahead of print. Infant Behav Dev. 2025. PMID: 40743801

References

    1. Achenbach TM, & Rescorla LA (2000). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms and profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families, 30.
    1. Adolf K, Cole WG, Novack MA, Han YC, Kaat AJ, Rachwani J, Clark J, Dusing S, Heathcock J, Prosser LA, Lockman JJ, Whitall J, & Gershon RC (2025). Development and Validation of the NIH Baby Toolbox® Motor measures. Infant Behavior and Development. - PubMed
    1. Aktar E, & Pérez-Edgar K (2020). Infant Emotion Development and Temperament. In Lockman JJ, & Tamims-LeMonda CS (Eds.), Handbook of infant development (pp. 715–741). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
    1. American Academy of Pediatrics. (2017). Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children and Adolescents (4th ed.). Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics.
    1. Bates E (1976). Language and context: The acquisition of pragmatics. New York, NY: Academic Press.

LinkOut - more resources