Elsevier

Research in Developmental Disabilities

Volume 31, Issue 1, January–February 2010, Pages 87-96
Research in Developmental Disabilities

Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC): Establishing construct validity for Israeli children

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2009.08.001Get rights and content

Abstract

The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) is one of the most accepted tools, both in clinical practice and in research, for the diagnosis of Developmental Coordination Disorders (DCDs) in children. The present study aimed to: (1) establish the construct validity of M-ABC in Israel by comparing the motor performance of typically developed children in four age groups (ranging from 6 to 12 years) and (2) examine the impact of socio-demographic parameters on children's motor performance.

Participants were 249 typical children, between 4.1 and 12.08 years old, whose motor performance was evaluated by the M-ABC. The results showed that age, gender, mother's education level, and socioeconomic status had an impact on children's motor performance. Thus, the M-ABC may serve as a suitable tool for examining the motor performance of children in Israel. This examination should also refer to socio-demographic factors in order to shed light on the contribution of environmental disadvantages to children's motor performance.

Introduction

Skilled movement is a fundamental component of human life (Henderson & Sugden, 1992), allowing human beings to meet their basic needs, to communicate, and to learn (Summers, Larkin, & Dewey, 2008). The impact of motor competence on children's lives in general, and on academic performance in particular, is gaining increasing recognition (Chow et al., 2006, Henderson and Sugden, 1992). Difficulty in movement, expressed as a marked impairment in the development of motor coordination, is labeled as Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Although DCD negatively affects the functional performance of daily motor activities or academic achievement, it is not the result of any medical condition or intellectual impairment (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). DCD is a significant problem for approximately 6–13% of school-aged children (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, Kadesjö and Gillberg, 1999) and is known to be more prevalent among boys (Cairney, Hay, Flouris, Mandigo, & Faught, 2005).

One of the most commonly used tools for evaluating DCD in children is the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC; Henderson & Sugden, 1992). The M-ABC was developed as a clinical and educational tool to provide an indication of motor functioning across a range of fine and gross motor tasks among children 4–12 years old. Although the M-ABC norms are based on samples of children from the USA, the tool is widely used in other countries as well. Therefore, it is important to evaluate its sensitivity to the level of motor performance in discriminating between various age groups, geographical areas, and cultural backgrounds. This perspective is in accordance with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model, which emphasizes the need to refer to meaningful environmental and contextual factors that either hinder or facilitate children's participation (Dunn et al., 1994, Law, 2002, Newell, 1986). Previous studies have described how the impacts of DCD on the activities of daily living are moderated by the context in which these activities are performed, particularly country of residence and cultural background (Rodger et al., 2003, Summers et al., 2008). Moreover, studies examining the validity of the M-ABC norms in other countries suggest that these norms may need to be adjusted to different contexts (e.g., Chow et al., 2001, Miyahara et al., 1998, Rosblad and Gard, 1998).

The examination of environmental context should also take into account the fact that children's motor development is known to be affected by various socio-demographic factors, such as age, gender, parents’ education level and socioeconomic status. Examining the relationship between these socio-demographic parameters and children's motor performance is of utmost importance when examining the validity of a specific evaluation tool (Henderson & Sugden, 1992).

When referring to age, it is well established that motor development undergoes continuous changes and that coordination improves dramatically throughout childhood due to a better integration of sensory and motor systems (Gallahue and Ozmun, 2002, Roncesvalles et al., 2005, Smits-Engelsman et al., 2006, Smyth et al., 2004). For example, balance, which is the ability to maintain a weight-bearing posture or to move through a sequence of postures (Burton & Davis, 1992), improves largely linearly from ages 2 to 18 (Demura et al., 2008, DeOreo, 1971, unpublished doctoral dissertation; Geuze, 2003). Manual dexterity typically develops during the period from birth through mid-primary school, progressing from a reliance on fingers to the use of ‘school tools,’ such as pencils and scissors, in order to manipulate and explore things during the early childhood years (Case-Smith and Shortridge, 1996, Edwards et al., 2002, Exner, 2001). Preschool children steadily gain increasing feelings of success about their motor activities (Kurtz, 2003, Liddle and Yorke, 2003, Smith, 2003) so that by the time school age is reached, most children possess a sufficient repertoire of skills for coping with the basic demands of both home and school environments (Henderson & Sugden, 1992).

A debate exists in the literature regarding the impact of gender on children's motor development and performance. In general, across three stages of development, boys have shown better motor performance than girls (e.g., Davies & Rose, 2000). According to the M-ABC manual, non-significant differences were found between boys and girls in motor performance, but boys in most age bands in the 4–12 age range showed better motor performance than their female peers, and at the age of 9 this difference approached significance (Henderson & Sugden, 1992). Some studies have claimed that gender differences in pre-pubescent school-aged children can be attributed more to social and environmental factors than to biological factors (Garcia, 1994, Thomas et al., 1991). Thus, the impact of gender on children's motor performance should receive further attention (Henderson & Sugden, 1992), especially in countries outside the USA (e.g., Chow et al., 2001, Miyahara et al., 1998).

Familial socioeconomic status was also found to be a possible factor affecting motor performance. According to the M-ABC manual, the higher the family's socioeconomic status (as estimated by mother's education), the better the child's performance on the M-ABC, though the relationship was not significant.

The M-ABC is increasingly used in Israel, where there is a growing interest in children with DCD and where a relatively high percentage of children with DCD are referred to intervention programs, such as occupational therapy. Based on the above, the present study aimed to establish the construct validity of the M-ABC in Israel and to determine the relationship between motor performance and children's socio-demographic factors as: age, gender, parents’ educational level, residence and socioeconomic status.

Section snippets

Participants

Participants were 249 typical children, between 4.1 and 12.08 years old (mean = 8.27 ± = 2.34), who were enrolled in regular kindergartens and mainstream public schools in Israel. The children were divided into four age groups: 4–6 years; 7–8 years; 9–10 years; and 11–12 years, according to the four age bands of the M-ABC. All children had IQ in normal range.

Exclusion criteria were a known low IQ level of performance; neurological, developmental, or learning disabilities; and DCD (children who

Age bands

A general difference was found between the age bands (F9,581) = 8.15, p  .0001. Table 2 depicts the significance of the differences between the age bands in regard to the M-ABC scores. A significant difference between age bands was reflected in the total M-ABC scores (F3,244) = 6.96, p  .0001). Scheffe post hoc revealed that the only significant difference was found between age band 4–6 and age band 9–10, where the younger age band scored significantly better than the older one (mean difference = 2.01;

Discussion

The present study aimed to establish the construct validity of M-ABC among typically developed Israeli children and also to examine the relationship between children's motor performance and socio-demographic parameters. This study focused on children 4–12 years old, an age range when most DCD cases are recognized and treated (Cermak et al., 2002, Miller et al., 2001, Missiuna et al., 2003). Moreover, in this age range, children's gain of daily living skills to function independently is

Acknowledgments

Thanks are extended to the following Occupational Therapists: Ayelet Goffer, M.Sc., Jumana Asssy-Marjieh M.Sc., Nirit Lifshitz, Ph.D., Amani Hanna Kasis M.Sc. and Daphna Weissman M.Sc., who helped with data collection.

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