Background: Difficulties in language development are related to social and emotional problems, lower academic outcomes, and lower quality of life from childhood to adolescence. These grave consequences might be significantly reduced by timely identification and professional support. The introduction of systematic screening for language delay (LD) in 3-year-old children in Hungary was based on the recent adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates CDI-III (HCDI-III). Aims: To explore the relevant psychometric properties of the HCDI-III; to identify factors characteristic of the families and children influencing language development at the age group under investigation; and to evaluate the adequacy of the tool for the purpose of screening LD in kindergarten at the age of 3 years. Methods & Procedures:The norming study of the HCDI-III was conducted in a collaborative research project with the Metropolitan Pedagogical Services in Budapest. HCDI-III parent report forms along with a demographic survey form were distributed to parents of all Hungarian-speaking children between the ages of 2;0 and 4;2 without special education needs. The normative sample comprised data from 1424 children aged 2;0-4;2 with 51.1% boys and 48.9% girls. The data set contained information including language skills, basic demographics, birth conditions, health issues and socio-economic status (SES).Outcomes & Results: In the HCDI-III form, six outcome variables were created to cover the domains of expressive vocabulary, morphosyntax and language use. Statistical analyses revealed appropriate psychometric properties of five outcome variables that showed a normal distribution and were strongly correlated to age. Outcomes of girls were slightly (but significantly) higher on scales corresponding to vocabulary, syntax, language use and productivity. Most variables were highly correlated with one another even with age partialled out. Multiple regression analyses revealed significant effect of age, gender and parental education on all main outcome variables. Neither one of the other eight predictors, including familial and birth-related factors, affected linguistic outcomes in our sample.

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