INTRODUCTION: Despite the widespread use of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd edition (MABC-2), little is known about the sensitivity or specificity of the individual items to detect probable Developmental Coordination Disorder (p-DCD). This study examined which specific MABC-2 items were most sensitive to identify children with p-DCD and which items would predict p-DCD. METHODS: Based on a large dataset including European and African children aged 3-16 years (n = 4916, typically developing (TD, 49.6 % boys); n = 822 p-DCD (53.1 % boys), Hedges' g was calculated to establish the standardized mean difference (SMD) between p-DCD/TD. SMDs were considered substantial when absolute values at or above 1.4. Sensitivity and specificity of the raw MABC-2 item scores predicting p-DCD/TD per age band (AB) were established with logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: AB1: Children with p-DCD performed substantially poorer on threading beads (SMD: -1.61) and jumping on mats (SMD: 1.61). By combining all items and the country of origin, the sensitivity was 61.7 % and specificity 98.6 %. AB2: Walking heel-to-toe forwards (SMD: 1.65) was substantially poorer in p-DCD. By combining all items and the country of origin, the sensitivity was 79.0 % and specificity 97.6 %. AB3: Catching a ball with the preferred (SMD: 1.8) or non-preferred (SMD: 1.61) hand, and for walking heel-to-toe backwards (SMD: 1.78) were substantially poorer in p-DCD. All items combined resulted in a sensitivity of 94.4 % and specificity of 99.6 %. CONCLUSION: Not all MABC-2 items are equally sensitive to distinguish between performances of p-DCD and TD. Despite the good specificity, the sensitivity was only moderate in AB1-2, the age at which children learn culturally influenced motor skills.

Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa

Department of Physical Activity Sport and Recreation Faculty Health Sciences North West University Potchefstroom South Africa

Faculty of Physical Culture Palacký University Olomouc Czechia

Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain University of Minnesota Minneapolis MN USA

Rehabilitation Research Centre REVAL Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy Hasselt University Hasselt Belgium

School of Kinesiology University of Minnesota Minneapolis MN USA

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