Criterion validity of the Motor Coordination and Dexterity Assessment: MCDA for 7- and 8-years old children.

BACKGROUND Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is characterized by impaired development of motor coordination, with impact on daily life activities and academic performance. The Motor Coordination and Dexterity Assessment (MCDA) was created to offer Brazilian rehabilitation professionals a valid and reliable instrument for detecting DCD. OBJECTIVE To examine the MCDA criterion validity. METHODS One hundred and eighty one children aged 7 and 8 years from the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, pre-selected using the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ-Brazil), were evaluated with the MCDA and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-II). Concurrent validity was assessed using Spearman correlation index and the predictive validity was calculated using sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values. ROC curves were constructed to determine the optimal cutoff point of MCDA. RESULTS Spearman correlation between the total scores of MCDA and MABC-II at 7 and 8 years were 0.596 (p=0.000) and 0.730 (p=0.000), respectively. The cutoff points defined by the ROC curves approached the 40th percentile, corresponding to a sensitivity of 0.91 and 0.74 and specificity of 0.74 and 0.90 for children 7 and 8 years old, respectively. CONCLUSION The results indicate moderate values of concurrent and predictive validity of the MCDA. Future studies should reexamine the cutoff points of the MCDA in other random samples, representative of Brazilian children 4 to 8 years of age. The predictive validity of the full instrument for DCD should be re-examined in well defined clinical samples.