Abstract
Comparing motor assessment tools that are available for young children is important in order to select the most appropriate clinical and research tools. Hence, this study compared motor performance assessed with the Zurich Neuromotor Assessment-2 (ZNA-2) to the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2). The sample consisted of 169 children, aged 3–5 years (87 boys; 51%). We used Pearson correlations to examine relationships between the ZNA-2 and MABC-2 component and total scores. In addition, Pearson correlations were performed between individual fine motor and balance items of the ZNA-2 and MABC-2. Results were that the total scores of the ZNA-2 and MABC-2 correlated moderately (r = .40, p < .001). Non-significant to moderate correlations were found between components (r = −.00 to .47) and between individual items of fine motor skills (r = .04 to .38) and balance (r = −.12 to .38). Thus, the ZNA-2 and MABC-2 measure partly similar and partly different aspects of motor performance.
Highlights
Three to five-year old children experience a remarkable pace and extent of development in their motor repertoire
An overview of the descriptive data for the components, total scores, and individual test items of the Zurich Neuromotor Assessment-2 (ZNA-2) and Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) is provided in Table 1
Cohen’s d analysis showed that the original and pooled means of the components, total scores, and individual items were similar for the whole sample, except for the component pure motor skills of the ZNA-2, which differed weakly
Summary
Three to five-year old children experience a remarkable pace and extent of development in their motor repertoire. With the acknowledgement that motor skills are linked to cognitive and social-emotional skills, the assessment of motor performance in 3–5-year-old children has gained importance (Piek et al, 2012). One of the most frequently used tests by health care professionals in Europe for this purpose in (young) children is the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2; Henderson et al, 2007). The MABC-2 is a validated and norm-referenced test to detect motor coordination difficulties in children aged 3–16 years, and it has been recommended for the detection of Developmental Coordination Disorder (Blank et al, 2019). Ceiling effects make a test less suitable for assessing motor performance in typically developing children, as differentiation between above average performers cannot be done (Cools et al, 2009; de Niet et al, 2021). In contrast to the MABC-2, the ZNA-2 battery has been designed to Perceptual and Motor Skills 128(5)
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