The effective screening and early identification of social and emotional difficulties in early childhood are essential to ensure that children and their families receive appropriate care and support.

Within the Cohort ’18 study, we assessed children’s social-emotional development at 18 months of age using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ:SE-2). This instrument is widely used internationally for both research and screening purposes.

Our recently published study, conducted in collaboration with researchers from the University of Pécs, aimed to present the Hungarian adaptation of the questionnaire and to examine its reliability and validity using data from the 18-month wave of the Cohort ’18 study.

Our results indicate that the Hungarian version of the ASQ:SE-2 reliably measures children’s characteristics along two dimensions: emotional and social difficulties. Early social-emotional difficulties observed at 18 months increased the likelihood of social-emotional problems at three years of age. The study also showed that children from families with lower socioeconomic status are more vulnerable in terms of social-emotional development.

The full article is available here:

Pohárnok, M. – Lábadi, B. –  Regőczi-Balogh, E. – Kopcsó, K. (2025). Psychometric properties of the Hungarian version of the ages and stages questionnaires: Social–emotional-2 for 18-month-old children. Infant Mental Health Journal, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.70050