title: Motor assessment of preschool aged children: A preliminary investigation of the validity of the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency - short form.
abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the validity of the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency - short form (BOTMP-SF) [Bruininks, R. (1978). Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency: Examiners manual. Circle Pines, MN] for the assessment of preschool aged children. Three-hundred and eighteen children 48-71months old (M=58.97months, SD=6.73) participated in the study. For the data analysis both an ANOVA and a MANOVA were applied with the total battery score and the 14 item scores being the dependent variables, respectively. Age was found to have a significant effect on both children's total battery score (F(3, 314)=110.65, p<.001, eta(2)=.68) and 13 item scores (minimum F(3, 314)=8.75, p<.001, minimum eta(2)=.145). Although the aforementioned results represent an evidence for the validity of the BOTMP-SF, a closer study on the score of each item revealed a high percentage of zero scores on four items. Task difficulty has caused a floor effect, constituting a threat to the validity of the preschoolers' motor assessment with the above battery. A modification of the battery items is suggested, so that the BOTMP-SF will give valid results for children 4-6years old.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece. venetsan@cs-net.gr
authors.forename: Fotini
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Venetsanou
authors.forename: Antonis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kambas
authors.forename: Nickos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aggeloussis
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fatouros
authors.forename: Kyriakos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taxildaris
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004856:Postural Balance; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016138:Walking