Reliability and validity of age band 1 of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children – Second Edition

The purpose of this study was to examine specific aspects of the reliability and validity of age band 1 of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children – Second Edition (MABC-2) (Henderson, Sugden, & Barnett, 2007) in Greek preschool children. One hundred and eighty-three children participated in the study; the children ranged in age from 36 to 64 months old (M = 50 months, SD = 9 months). Test-retest reliability of the MABC-2 was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Cronbach's alpha for the items of each motor domain was estimated to determine internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the factorial validity of the MABC-2 test. Correlation coefficients among individual item scores and the total score were also calculated to further examine validity. The ICC for all test items was good, except for the drawing trail task, which was moderate. Cronbach's alpha coefficient values were .51, .70 and .66 for manual dexterity, aiming and catching, and balance, respectively. In the confirmatory factor analysis, goodness-of-fit indices suggested a satisfactory fit of the data to the model. The correlation coefficients between each test item and the total score were moderate. The results suggest that the MABC-2 can be a reliable and valid tool for the assessment of movement difficulties among 3–5-year-old children.

Research highlights
► We investigated specific psychometric aspects of MABC-2.
► We examined test-retest reliability, internal consistency and factorial validity.
► Reliability for all but one test items was good.
► Goodness-of-fit indices suggested a satisfactory fit of the data to the model.
► The results suggest that the MABC-2 can be a reliable and valid tool.