Factor Analysis of the Minnesota Infant Development Inventory Based on a Hispanic Migrant Population

Abstract

The Minnesota Infant Development Inventory (MIDI), a parental report instrument, was completed for 168 Hispanic migrant workers’infants ranging in age from 1 to 15 months. This study analyzed MIDI scores to determine the extent to which it measures the five domains postulated by its authors. Principal axis analysis with varimax and orthotran rotations was used to obtain pattern coefficients. The scree test and a parallel analysis were used to estimate the proper numbers of factors to extract. Three solutions were presented: (a) a one-factor solution, as indicated by the parallel analysis; (b) a three-factor solution, as indicated by the scree test; and (c) a five-factor solution, as recommended by MIDI’s authors. Based on several considerations (e.g., lack of empirical support for the MIDI five domain scores, parsimony, and ease of use), the one-factor solution was judged best for infants from Hispanic migrant families until future research supports other practices.