Structural validity of the MABC-2 in European and African children: An analysis of age band 2.
The MABC-2 measures four, not three, motor domains in 7- to 10-year-olds, and the item pattern shifts between European and African kids.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team ran a factor analysis on the Movement ABC-2 for 3,025 children aged 7-10. Half lived in Europe, half in Africa.
They wanted to see if the test’s three skill areas really hold up across cultures.
What they found
The three-domain model did not fit. A four-domain structure fit better.
Some test items loaded on different factors for European versus African kids.
How this fits with other research
Sipes et al. (2014) also used factor analysis on a child tool. They kept the original three-factor BISCUIT for toddlers. Evi et al. did the opposite: they dropped the MABC-2 three-factor model.
Albert et al. (2024) found a bifactor model best for ADOS-2 Module 3. Both studies reject the manual’s default scoring and push for a new structure.
Mandell (1984) showed parent reports give a different factor pattern for disabled children. Evi’s work extends this idea to direct motor testing across continents.
Why it matters
If you give the MABC-2 to school-age clients, do not trust the printed three-area profile alone. Ask where the child grew up. Push for local norms or create your own four-factor scores until the publisher updates the kit.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The Movement Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd edition (MABC-2) is a widely used motor assessment tool for identifying Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). However, the structural validity of the MABC-2 remains underinvestigated, particularly in children aged 7-10, when DCD is most frequently diagnosed. The primary aim of this study was to examine the structural validity of the MABC-2 in European and African children aged 7-10 years. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed a dataset (n = 3025) including African and European children. The test-defined three-domain structure was assessed with higher-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA, Asymptotically Distribution-free estimation). Next, the dataset was randomly divided in two: exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using oblique rotation was conducted in one half of the sample, and these factors were then reassessed with CFA in the other half. RESULTS: Multiple group comparison yielded the need for separate analyses per continent. The test-defined structure was not confirmed in either European or African children. Instead, EFA identified a four-domain structure in both subsamples. The drawing trail (item 3) did not fit any CFA model and was therefore removed from the final model. In the European sample, the dynamic balance domain had the strongest loadings onto the total score, while "eye-hand/eye-foot coordination" showed the strongest loadings in the African sample. CONCLUSION: A four-domain structure appears to underlie the MABC-2 in a large sample of European and African children. Factor loadings shifted slightly depending on the subsample, further underscoring the need for region-specific normative data, which should be considered in future standardization procedures.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2025 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2025.105156