This study aims to establish linguistic equivalence of the Marathi translation of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires-Third Edition (ASQ-3) in an urban setting of India.

All items of the ASQ-3 were translated and back translated by translators from a non-medical background, piloted on 40 families and reviewed by an expert panel. The final version, adjusted for linguistic equivalence, was tested on 111 bilingual parents recruited to complete questionnaires about their children in both English and Marathi. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), a measure of reliability, were calculated between responses in both languages for each domain of the ASQ-3.

ICC for each of the five domains were communication: 0.77; gross motor: 0.88; fine motor: 0.80; problem solving: 0.84; personal-social: 0.84. There were no statistically significant differences between Marathi and English questionnaires.

This Marathi translation of the ASQ-3 was linguistically equivalent to the English version, and can be utilized for developmental screening with Marathi-speaking families.