Psychometric properties of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2): an analysis based on the Item Response Theory / A falta capacidade discriminatória em tarefas motoras do Movement Assessment Battery for Children ­ 2: O que a Teoria de Resposta ao Item revela?

Introduction: the American Psychiatric Association reveals that 6% of school-age children have developmental coordination disorder. Objective: this study aimed at assessing the suitability of the tasks proposed by the MABC-2 motor assessment instrument based on the psychometric properties of such an instrument and the analysis of the Item Response Theory. Methods: 582 children ranging in age from 3 to 5 years old of both sexes participated in the study. The motor tasks suitability for children was verified by using the Gradual Response Model, and applying the Maximum Likelihood Estimation method. Results: the motor task 'bicycle trail' showed a lower discriminatory power and was removed from the analysis. Considering the 'Aiming & Catching' dimension, 'Threading Beads' was the motor task with the highest degree of difficulty. Regarding balance, the 'One Leg Balance' task was classified as having a high degree of difficulty; on the other hand, the motor tasks 'Jumping on mats' and 'Catching Beanbag' required below average motor performance levels, that is, they are tasks with low discrimination capacity. The results showed that the low discriminative capacity of some MABC-2 items regarding this study sample makes it difficult to correctly classify the child's general motor performance level.Conclusion: the findings show that there is a need to review the suitability of the MABC-2 motor tasks in order to equate the difficulty and discriminatory capacity of the tasks so that standardization more appropriate to the reality of children from different populations is established.Keywords: psychometric properties, motor tasks, motor performance.

Introdução: a American Psychiatric Association revela que 6% das crianças em idade escolar apresentavam desordem coordenativa desenvolvimental. Objetivo: analisar a adequabilidade das tarefas propostas no instrumento de avaliação motora MABC-2 a partir da análise da teoria de resposta ao item.Método: participaram do estudo 582 crianças de 3 a 5 anos de idade, de ambos os sexos. A adequabilidade das tarefas motoras às crianças foi verificada por meio do modelo de resposta gradual, com método de estimação de máxima verossimilhança. Resultados: os resultados evidenciaram a existência de apenas dois fatores, sendo que as tarefas relativas ao "Equilíbrio" e "Lançar e "Receber", das dimensões propostas no modelo original foi agrupado em uma dimensão. Além disso, a tarefa motora "Caminho da bicicleta" não apresentou bom ajuste ao modelo, sendo eliminada das análises. Com isto, o modelo final apresentou bons índices de ajuste, e os parâmetros relacionados à tarefa indicaram a falta de equivalência de dificuldade e capacidade discriminatória entre as tarefas motoras do instrumento.Conclusão: os achados indicam que existe a necessidade de rever a adequabilidade das tarefas motoras do MABC-2 no sentido de equiparar a dificuldade e a capacidade discriminatória das tarefas a fim de criar uma padronização mais adequada a realidade de crianças de diferentes populações.

Movement assessment battery for children-second edition: theoretical adequacy of a motor assessment instrument / Movement assessment battery for children-second edition: adequação teórica do modelo do instrumento de avaliação motora

ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate the adequacy of the theoretical model of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (MABC-2) instrument. Methods: 582 children, of both sexes, aged between 3 and 5 years and residents in the city of Maringá (state of Paraná, Southern Brazil) participated in the study. Data were collected from May/2014 to June/2015 and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The evidence obtained from exploratory factor analysis indicated the presence of two factors, which was the option that best fitted the explanatory model. Hence, it was necessary to regroup the motor tasks of the dimensions "Aiming & catching" and "Balance" into only one dimension. It is noteworthy that the "Bicycle trail" motor task did not fit the model, as it presented a low and negative factor load in the analyzed dimensions. In the confirmatory factor analysis, adequate adjustment indices were observed for the tested model, which confirmed the non-classification of the "Bicycle trail" motor task in the original dimension. Conclusions: After removing the "Bicycle trail" motor task, the adjusted two-factor model seems to be the most appropriate to assess the motor performance of children participating in the study.

RESUMO Objetivo: Investigar a adequabilidade do modelo teórico do instrumento de avaliação motora Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition. Métodos: Participaram do estudo 582 crianças, de ambos os sexos com idade entre 3 e 5 anos da cidade de Maringá, Paraná, no período de maio/2014 a junho/2015. Para analisar os dados, utilizou-se a estatística descritiva e inferencial. Resultados: As evidências obtidas por meio da análise fatorial exploratória indicaram a presença de dois fatores. Essa opção foi a que melhor se ajustou ao modelo explicativo. Com isso, foi necessário reagrupar as tarefas motoras das dimensões "lançar e receber" e "equilíbrio" em apenas uma dimensão. Destaca-se que a tarefa motora "caminho da bicicleta" não se adequou ao modelo, pois apresentou carga fatorial baixa e negativa nas dimensões analisadas. Na análise fatorial confirmatória, observaram-se índices de ajustamento adequados para o modelo testado, a qual confirmou o não enquadramento da tarefa motora "caminho da bicicleta" na dimensão original. Conclusões: Após a retirada da tarefa motora "caminho da bicicleta", o modelo ajustado de dois fatores parece ser o mais adequado para avaliar o desempenho motor das crianças participantes do estudo.

MOVEMENT ASSESSMENT BATTERY FOR CHILDREN-SECOND EDITION: THEORETICAL ADEQUACY OF A MOTOR ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the adequacy of the theoretical model of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (MABC-2) instrument. METHODS: 582 children, of both sexes, aged between 3 and 5 years and residents in the city of Maringá (state of Paraná, Southern Brazil) participated in the study. Data were collected from May/2014 to June/2015 and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: The evidence obtained from exploratory factor analysis indicated the presence of two factors, which was the option that best fitted the explanatory model. Hence, it was necessary to regroup the motor tasks of the dimensions "Aiming & catching" and "Balance" into only one dimension. It is noteworthy that the "Bicycle trail" motor task did not fit the model, as it presented a low and negative factor load in the analyzed dimensions. In the confirmatory factor analysis, adequate adjustment indices were observed for the tested model, which confirmed the non-classification of the "Bicycle trail" motor task in the original dimension. CONCLUSIONS: After removing the "Bicycle trail" motor task, the adjusted two-factor model seems to be the most appropriate to assess the motor performance of children participating in the study.