Factorial validity of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (age band 2)

The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (M-ABC-2) is one of the most commonly used tests for the diagnosis of specific developmental disorders of motor function (F82). The M-ABC-2 comprises eight subtests per age band (AB) that are assigned to three dimensions: manual dexterity, aiming and catching, and balance. However, while previous exploratory findings suggested the correctness of the assumption of factorial validity, there is no empirical evidence that the M-ABC-2 subtests allow for a valid reproduction of the postulated factorial structure. The purpose of this study was to empirically confirm the factorial validity of the M-ABC-2. The German normative sample of AB2 (7-10 years; N=323) was used as the study sample for the empirical analyses. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to verify the factorial validity of the M-ABC-2 (AB2). The incremental fit indices (χ2=28.675; df=17; Bollen-Stine p value=0.318; RMSEA=0.046 [0.011-0.075]; SRMR=0.038; CFI=0.960) provided evidence for the factorial validity of the M-ABC-2 (AB2). However, because of a lack of empirical verification for convergent and discriminant validity, there is still no evidence that F82 can be diagnosed using M-ABC-2 (AB2).