Bifactor structure and model reliability of the Test of Gross Motor Development — 3rd edition

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigated the structure of the Test of Gross Motor Development -3rd edition (TGMD-3). Specifically, we examine bifactor structure, which simultaneously models a fundamental motor skills (FMS) general factor and specific factors for locomotor skills and ball skills, compared to other models. Design: Cross-sectional design using the TGMD-3 normative sample. Methods: The sample (N = 862) of children (Mage = 6.51, SD = 2.23) was matched based on United States census data, ensuring appropriate percentages of demographic representation and disability status. Confirmatory factor analyses, exploratory structural equation modeling, model-based reliability estimates including coefficient omega hierarchical, and coefficient omega hierarchical subscale, explained common variance estimates, and relative parameter bias were examined. Results: Findings revealed bifactor structure produced a better model fit compared to both one-factor and two-factor models. Furthermore, model reliability estimates that parceled true score variance for the general FMS factor, locomotor skills factor, and ball skills factor yielded high internal consistency for FMS (.797) but not locomotor skills (.168) and ball skills (.216). Finally, explained common variance (.852-.879) and relative parameter bias (.018-.072) estimates identified the strength of the run, skip, slide, and dribble skills tests to represent the FMS general factor. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the advantages of using bifactor structure to examine the TGMD-3 compared to one-factor and two-factor models. Additionally, these results provide further evidence that using the TGMD-3 to examine an overall FMS general factor may explain more variance in performance and provide a better picture for evaluating children's current FMS levels compared to subscales independently.

Bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling: A meta-analytic review of model fit

“…The sixth and last category includes two constructs that did not fit the aforementioned five domains: motoric skills (Garn and Webster, 2021 ) and scar evaluation (Sen et al, 2015 ).…”

Bi-Directionality between Physical Activity within School and Fundamental Movement Skills in School-Aged Students: A Cross-Lagged Study

“…The results showed that for both boys and girls, the FMS of children, measured based on the second test of gross motor development (TGMD-2), showed significant differences before and after the summer vacation. Therefore, a regular teaching cycle (16 weeks) was selected in this study to meet the theoretical needs of constructing a cross-lag model [19]. Considering the actual needs of the test, the second week of school and the second or third week before the summer vacation were selected for tests T1 and T2, respectively, without affecting the normal teaching order.…”

“…It has good stability and validity and can be used as a tool to assess the development of FMS in children aged 3-10 years in China [24]. The TGMD series is currently one of the most widely used FMS evaluation tools worldwide [19]. In this study, the TGMD operating specifications were strictly followed.…”

Test of Gross Motor Development-3: Item Difficulty and Item Differential Functioning by Gender and Age with Rasch Analysis

“…Fundamental motor skill levels have been investigated for children worldwide using the various versions of the Test of Gross Motor Development [ 10 ]. The psychometrics of the TGMD-3 have been investigated in the United States [ 11 , 12 ], Brazil [ 13 , 14 ], Germany [ 15 ], Iran [ 16 ], Persia [ 17 ], Bosnia and Herzegovina [ 18 ], Spain [ 19 ], Italy [ 20 ], Canada [ 21 ], Greece [ 22 ] and Ireland [ 23 ]. The results provide relevant information about TGMD-3-appropriate indexes of reliability [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 24 , 25 ] and factorial structure [ 13 , 14 , 18 , 21 ].…”

“…The psychometrics of the TGMD-3 have been investigated in the United States [ 11 , 12 ], Brazil [ 13 , 14 ], Germany [ 15 ], Iran [ 16 ], Persia [ 17 ], Bosnia and Herzegovina [ 18 ], Spain [ 19 ], Italy [ 20 ], Canada [ 21 ], Greece [ 22 ] and Ireland [ 23 ]. The results provide relevant information about TGMD-3-appropriate indexes of reliability [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 24 , 25 ] and factorial structure [ 13 , 14 , 18 , 21 ]. For the current third edition, the psychometrics of the TGMD-3 items and the motor performance criteria (i.e., include preparatory movement, body position during the action, and follow-through) have been investigated only in the American sample regarding differential item functioning for gender and race, and satisfactory correlations (values above 0.25) were obtained, showing the validity of the item’s discriminative power [ 6 ].…”