ABSTRACT Purpose Compare the level of statistical agreement between the PREAUT grid and the clinical indicators of risk/reference to child development (IRDI) in the identification of risk, and analyze the frequency of psychic risk considering the variable gestational age. Methods The sample consisted of 80 infants, 55 full term and 25 preterm, considering the corrected age. All infants who presented any genetic syndrome, neurological lesions, or sensory deficits were excluded from the study. The IRDI and the PREAUT grid, in addition to a semi-structured interview, were used as data collection instruments. The statistical analysis evaluated the degree of agreement between the PREAUT grid and IRDI levels considering the Kappa coefficient agreement. Results Perfect agreement was observed in the identification of individuals with psychic risk in both protocols at nine months of age, although this identification is due to different phenomena. The frequency of psychic risk in preterm infants was higher (24%) than that in full term infants (20%). Considerable psychic risk was observed in the sample studied (21.25%) at nine months of age. Conclusion Complete agreement was observed between both protocols in the identification of psychic risk at nine months of age, whose frequency was important in the studied sample.