Motor skills assessments: support for a general motor factor for the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the construct validity and model-based reliability of general and specific contributions of the subscales of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) and Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2 (BOT-2) when evaluating motor skills across a range of psychiatric disorders. Methods Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and bifactor analysis were conducted on BOT-2 data from 187 elementary school students (grades 1 to 6) (mean age: 113 ± 20 months; boys: n = 117, 62.56%) and on MABC-2 data from 127 elementary school students (grade 1) (mean age: 76 ± 2 months; boys: n = 58, 45.67%). Results The results of the CFA fit the data for multidimensionality for the BOT-2 and presented poor fit indices for the MABC-2. For both tests, the bifactor model showed that the reliability of the subscales was poor. Conclusions The BOT-2 exhibited factorial validity with a multidimensional structure among the current samples, but the MABC-2 showed poor fit indices, insufficient to confirm its multidimensional structure. For both tests, most of the reliable variance came from a general motor factor (M-factor), therefore the scoring and reporting of subscale scores were not justified for both tests.

The validity and reliability of observational assessment tools available to measure fundamental movement skills in school-age children: A systematic review

“…Two studies exploring structural validity found good evidence utilising Rasch analysis, with results indicative of unidimensionality, with the overarching factor accounting for 99.8% [ 64 ] and 82.9% [ 73 ] of the variance in test scores for children with intellectual deficits (BOT), and typically developing children (BOT-BF), respectively. Similarly to the results of the Rasch studies, one additional study found that the four subscales were correlated, so a bifactor model, with an overarching motor skill factor, and four correlated sub-factors [ 81 ]. When the subscales and composite scales were evaluated separately using Rasch analysis, one study found multiple issues with fine motor integration, bilateral coordination, balance and body coordination which limit the justification of their use including multi-dimensional scales, items working differently for males and females, disordered item difficulty ratings, and/or the ability of the subscale/ composite score to differentiate between abilities [ 135 ].…”

“…One study found a four factor solution, with a general factor for age band 1, four factors with balance split into static and dynamic for age band 2, and a 3 factor correlated model for age band 3 [ 132 ]. Similarly, another study found evidence for a bifactor model with one general factor, and three sub-factors for age band one [ 81 ]. Evidence was also found for a five factor solution, with balance and manual dexterity each split into two factors [ 124 ].…”

“…(Continued) evaluating the validity and reliability of FMS assessment tools were conducted in 29 countries, with Australia hosting the most studies(13) [50,56,[71][72][73][74][75][76][77], followed by Brazil (12 studies)[53,57,66,70,[78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85] and the USA (nine studies). Eight studies were carried out in Belgium[49,58,63,[86][87][88][89] and seven in Canada[43,54,60,[90][91][92][93][94].…”

Task-Specific and Latent Relationships Between Motor Skills and Executive Functions in Preschool Children

“…With regard to the original three-factor structure of the MABC-2, mixed findings have been shown. Whereas the original three-factor structure of the MABC-2 has been replicated in preschool children (Psotta and Brom, 2016), other studies were not able to replicate the original threefactor structure but found a one-factor structure instead (Schulz et al, 2011;Okuda et al, 2019). Based on the original structure of the MABC-2 and the outcomes of previous studies regarding its factor structure, the present study takes into account both a one-factor structure and the original three-factor structure of the MABC-2 in examining the latent relationship between motor skills and EFs in the current study (Figure 1).…”

“…Hands et al (2018) suggest that low correlations between motor items do not dismiss a unitary underlying motor construct. For example, studies that have used statistical procedures such as factor analysis have supported an underlying unitary motor construct in children (Ibrahim et al, 2011;Schulz et al, 2011;Okuda et al, 2019). Based on these hypotheses, the current study will focus on both task-specific as well as latent relationships between motor skills and EFs.…”