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Background: The elaborated environmental stress hypothesis (EESH) provides a framework that describes how motor skills may indirectly cause internalizing problems through various mediating psychosocial factors. While there is evidence to support this framework, little is known about how the proposed relationships may vary across different stages of development. Aims: This study aimed to investigate whether peer problems and perceived self‐competence mediated the relationship between motor skills and internalizing problems in pre‐primary children, and at 18‐month follow up. Sample: A community sample of 197 pre‐primary school children (M = 5.40 years, SD = 0.30 years; 102 males, 95 females) participated at Time 1, with 107 completing the Time 2 follow‐up. Methods: Standardized instruments were used to measure motor skills and verbal IQ. Perceived self‐competence was measured using a self‐report measure. Participant peer problems and internalizing problems were measured using teacher report. Age, gender, and verbal IQ were included as covariates. Results: Mediation analysis using PROCESS showed that the relationship between motor skills and internalizing problems was mediated by peer problems at Time 1. At Time 2, the relationship was mediated by peer problems and perceived physical competence. Conclusions: The current results indicate the EESH may function differently across different periods of development. The transition from pre‐primary to Grade 1 represents a time of important cognitive and psychosocial development, which has implications for how the relationship between motor skills and internalizing problems can be understood. These findings highlight potential age‐appropriate targets for psychomotor interventions aiming to improve the emotional well‐being of young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim We aimed to clarify the underpinnings of widespread visuomotor deficits in very preterm children. Method Fifty-eight very preterm children (26 males, 32 females; mean [ SD] age 7y 6mo [5mo], gestational age 29.2wks [1.6]; birthweight 1237g [336]), recruited from a tertiary level neonatal intensive care unit, and 64 age-matched, comparison children born at term (28 males, 36 females; mean age [ SD] 7y 8mo [7mo]) participated. IQ was measured using a short form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd edition). A research diagnosis of developmental coordination disorder ( DCD) was defined as a score below the 15th centile on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children. Visuomotor performance was assessed using a computerized task, in which children followed a predictable (structured condition) or an unpredictable (non-structured condition) trail on a touch screen using their index finger. Results Forty-six per cent of the very preterm children had a research diagnosis of DCD, compared with 16% of children born at term ( p<0.001, odds ratio 4.69 [95% CI 2.01-10.99]). No group difference in visuomotor performance was present for the structured condition. In the non-structured condition, children born very preterm with and without a research diagnosis of DCD had poorer visuomotor performance than those born at term. Interpretation The predictability of the required motor response plays a crucial role in visuomotor deficits in very preterm children, regardless of DCD status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impaired motor development can deprive a child of constructive engagement in early motor activities and thus diminish opportunities for the acquisition of key cognitive, social and emotional abilities. The aim of the current study was to test a model where social skills mediate the relationship between motor ability and internalizing symptoms in pre-primary children. A cross-sectional research design was employed to assess the mediation model using data from 234 boys and 241 girls aged 4 to 6 years. Structural equation modelling provided support for the mediating role of social skills as assessed by the child's teacher. Replication of these findings in longitudinal studies, elucidating how social skills relate to motor impairment, could have implications for the prevention of psychopathology in young children with motor impairment. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Research suggests important links between motor coordination and executive functions. The current study examined whether motor coordination predicts working memory, inhibition, and switching performance, extending previous research by accounting for attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology and other confounding factors, in an adolescent normative sample. Method Ninety-three adolescents (38 females, 55 males) aged 12 to 16 years (mean age 4y 2mo, SD 1y 1mo) were assessed on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV, N-back task, the inhibition subtest from the NEPSY-II: A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment, second edition, and the parent-rated Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms and Normal Behaviour Questionnaire. Results The MABC-2 total score accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in visuospatial working memory ( p=0.041) but not for verbal working memory. The MABC-2 aiming and catching component, however, was found to account for unique variance in both verbal ( p=0.019) and visuospatial working memory ( p=0.016). The MABC-2 total score was found to account for a significant proportion of the variance in inhibition total completion time ( p=0.017). Finally, balance skills accounted for unique variance in a NEPSY-II inhibition total errors variable ( p=0.020). Interpretation The results provide support for an overlap between motor coordination and executive functions, which has important practical implications. The study also suggests shared mechanisms underpinning the relationship between these areas, including possible cerebellar involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim It has been suggested that one approach to identifying motor impairment in children is to use the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) as a screening tool. The current study examined the validity of the CBCL in identifying motor impairment. Method A total of 398 children, 206 females and 192 males, aged from 3 years 9 months to 14 years 10 months were assessed on the McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development to determine their motor ability. Parents completed the CBCL. Results The ‘Clumsy’ item on the CBCL was found to predict motor ability independent of the child’s age, sex, and scores on other items of the CBCL. However, the sensitivity of the ‘Clumsy’ item in terms of identifying motor impairment was found to be a low 16.7% compared with specificity of 93.2%. The item ‘Not liked’ was also found to be a significant predictor of motor impairment. Interpretation Although the ‘Clumsy’ and ‘Not liked’ items were found to have a relationship with motor ability, they should not be relied upon to categorize children as motor impaired versus not impaired. It is possible that these items may be better indicators of motor impairment in children with developmental disorders such as attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, but clinical samples are needed to address this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been suggested that the high levels of comorbidity between attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD) may be attributed to a common underlying neurocognitive mechanism. This study assessed whether children with DCD and ADHD share deficits on tasks measuring working memory, set-shifting, and processing speed. A total of 195 children aged between 6 years 6 months and 14 years 1 month (mean 10y 4mo [SD 2y 2mo]) were included in this study. A control group (59 males, 79 females), a DCD group (12 males, six females), an ADHD-predominantly inattentive group (16 males, four females), and an ADHD-combined group (15 males, four females), were tested on three executive functioning tasks. Children with DCD were significantly slower on all tasks, supporting past evidence of a timing deficit in these children. With few exceptions, children with ADHD did not perform more poorly than control children. These findings demonstrate the importance of identifying children with motor deficits when examining tasks involving a timing component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with motor coordination problems are known to have emotional difficulties and poor social skills. The current study investigated whether children with poor motor ability have poor emotion recognition skills, and whether these could be linked to problems in social behaviour. It was hypothesized that difficulties in empathic ability might be related to the poor visuo-spatial processing ability identified in children with developmental coordination disorder (as defined by the American Psychiatric Association). The relationship between motor coordination, emotion recognition, and social behaviour was examined in a sample of 234 children (113 males, 121 females; mean age 9y 7mo, [SD 1y 8mo] age range 6y 8mo to 12y 11mo). From this sample two groups of 39 children each (17 females, 22 males), one group with motor difficulties (mean age 9y 11mo [SD 2y], range 6y 11mo to 12y 11mo) and the other of control children (mean age 10y [SD ly 11mo], range 6y 11mo to 12y 11mo), matched for age and sex, were compared using a set of six emotion recognition scales that measured both verbal and perceptual aspects of empathic ability. Children with motor difficulties were found to perform more poorly on scales measuring the ability to recognize static and changing facial expressions of emotion. This difference remained even when visuo-spatial processing was controlled. When controlling for emotion recognition and visuo-spatial organization, a child's motor ability remained a significant predictor of social behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the this study, both fine and gross motor ability of males with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were compared with a group of control children. Three groups of males with the following ADHD subtypes: predominantly inattentive (ADHD-PI; n = 50), hyperactive/impulsive (ADHD-HI; n = 16), or combined (ADHD-C; n = 38) were compared with 39 control males. Mean ages for the control group were 10 years 4 months (SD 1 year 4 months, range 7 years 8 months to 12 years 11 months); for the ADHD-PI group, 10 years (SD 1 year 2 months, range 7 years 10 months to 13 years); for the ADHD-HI group, 9 years 11 months (SD 1 year 2 months), range 7 years 11 months to 12 years 6 months); and for the ADHD-C group 10 years 2 months (SD 1 year 4 months, range 8 to 13 years). The Australian Disruptive Behaviours Scale and Connors' Parent Rating Scale-Revised were used to assess ADHD symptomatology. Verbal IQ was estimated using two verbal subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, and movement ability was assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) and the Purdue Pegboard test. Findings demonstrated that the children with ADHD had significantly poorer movement ability than control children. A high percentage of these children displayed movement difficulties consistent with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). In addition, the current study found that the type and degree of movement difficulty differed between subtypes. The Total Impairment score, as derived from the MABC, was less severe for the ADHD-HI group than the other two ADHD groups, but more severe than for the control group. Males with ADHD-PI and ADHD-C had significantly poorer fine motor ability (p < 0.001) than control males, whereas the ADHD-HI group did not differ significantly from any of the other groups. As children with ADHD only and the control group did not differ significantly on fine motor ability but were significantly better than children categorized with both ADHD and DCD, it was argued that poorer fine motor ability found in children with ADHD could not be attributed to deficits in attention and concentration, but rather to factors relating to their motor ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Children diagnosed with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have difficulty performing coordinated movements. In addition, these children have been found to have long-term social, emotional, behavioural and academic problems. Early identification is therefore important, and teachers may be very useful in this identification process. Aims. In the present study, the ability of physical education and class teachers to identify children with coordination problems using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children checklist was assessed. Samples. A total of 171 children was initially assessed. From this sample, 32 children found to have coordination problems were compared with 32 control children, matched on age, sex and Verbal IQ. Methods. Motor coordination difficulty was identified in children aged between 9 and 11 years using the performance test of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC; Henderson & Sugden, 1992). These scores were then compared with the scores on the MABC checklist which was given to the child's class and physical education teachers. Results. Class teachers were only able to identify 25 per cent of the children with DCD, whereas physical education teachers were able to identify 49 per cent of the DCD children. Conclusion. These differences were discussed in relation to the contextual settings in which the children were tested, based on the theory described by Sugden & Sugden (1991) in the development of their Motor Competence Checklist (MCC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]