Reliability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children - Second Edition (MABC-2) in Children Aged 7-10 Years in Tehran

  To diagnose developmental coordination disorder, a standard and accurate instrument for assessment of motor skills is required. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children - Second Edition is one of the tools developed for this purpose and is used in English-speaking countries (Britain and America). Therefore, it is necessary to examine the reliability of this test for use in Iranain society. The purpose of the present study was to determine the reliability of this test for age band two (7 to 10 years) children in Tehran. The statistical population of the study consisted of all 7-10 year-old children in Tehran. The sample consisted of 800 typical children with normal growth with a range of 0/7 to 10/8 years (mean 8.8 and 1.2 standard deviation) selected using multistage random sampling. The instrument used in the study was the Movement Assessment Battery For Children - Second Edition. We analyzed the inter-tester reliability and the test-retest and internal consistency for the Iranian sample. Inter-tester reliability was performed with two testers on 50 children, Test-retest reliability with two weeks interval between two tests and on 75 children, and internal consistency reliability was evaluated on 800 children. All steps of data analyses were performed using SPSS, version 23, and the significance level was set at p <0.05. Inter-tester reliability was calculated by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient for manual dexterity to be 0/923, aiming and catching 0/999, balance 0/988, and the total score of test was calculated to be 0/985. Test-retest reliability was calculated by calculating the inter-class correlation coefficient for manual dexterity to be 0/926, aiming and catching 0/888, balance 0/967, and the total score of test was calculated to be 0/967. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the internal consistency of the test was 0/713 for manual dexterity, aiming and catching0/765, balance 0/603, and the total score was calculated to be 0/843. Based on the findings of the present study, it is concluded that The Movement Assessment Battery for Children - Second Edition is a reliable tool for diagnosing the developmental coordination disorder in children aged 7-10 years in Tehran