title: Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC): establishing construct validity for Israeli children.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. batya@research.haifa.ac.il
authors.forename: Batya
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Engel-Yeger
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rosenblum
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Josman
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors