title: Handedness and developmental coordination disorder in Portuguese children: study with the M-ABC test.
abstract: This study aimed to examine the probable developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and to identify differences in motor performance according to handedness, sex and age in typically developing Portuguese children not engaged in out-of-school sports. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) was applied to a convenience sample of 154 right-handed and 119 left-handed children (n=273), aged 4-12 (mean age=7.96 years, SD=2.38). The results suggest that the occurrence rate of probable DCD was 25.3% for right-handers and 36.1% for left-handers. This study showed a significant effect of handedness in age band 2, left-handers exhibited a higher prevalence of probable DCD than right-handers. Sex produced a significant effect, with girls performing better in manual dexterity in age band 1 and boys performing better in ball skills in age bands 2 and 3. The lower motor performances were observed in older children. These findings reinforce for Portuguese children and particularly for left-handers, the need for further investigation involving longitudinal studies and children of different handedness in the motor coordination domain. Moreover, we highlight the importance of developing physical education programmes that emphasize motor coordination parameters, especially in left-handed children.
authors.affiliation: a Motor Control and Learning Laboratory, Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport , University of Porto , Porto , Portugal.
authors.forename: Cidália
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Freitas
authors.forename: Maria Olga
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Botelho
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Children; Developmental coordination disorder; Handedness; M-ABC; Motor skills