The development of motor coordination between the ages of 3 and 6 is a critical time for children. Good motor coordination not only serves as the foundation for children's daily activities but also promotes the maturation of neural development, thereby facilitating the growth of their language, intelligence, and emotional abilities. Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a disease characterized by significantly impaired motor coordination. Children at risk for DCD (rDCD) often have emotional and behavioral problems that can negatively affect long-term outcomes. The purpose of this study was to compare the differences in emotional-behavioral problems between children with rDCD and typically developing (TD) children, and to explore the correlation between motor coordination skills and emotional-behavioral problems. Thirty-nine children with rDCD were selected from a children's hospital, and 31 children with TD were examined at the same time: according to age, 0.5 years. were selected as controls. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (MABC-2) was used to assess the motor coordination of the children, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Parent version) (SDQ) was used to assess the emotional and behavioral problems of the children. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the differences between the two groups in terms of emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer interaction problems, and pro-social behaviors. Partial correlation and ordered logistic regression were used to analyze the relationship between motor coordination skills and emotional-behavioral problems. The age of the children was (4.97 ± 0.84) years old. The differences in peer interaction problems and pro-social behaviors between TD and rDCD children were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Partial correlation analysis showed that motor coordination ability was closely related to peer interaction problems and pro-social behavior (P < 0.05). Regression results showed that motor coordination deficits in children increased the risk of peer interaction problems (OR: 3.87, 95% CI: 1.52-9.84) and pro-social behavior (OR: 13.75, 95% CI: 2.89-64.75). This study indicates that there is a correlation between children's motor coordination skills and emotional-behavioral problems. Children with rDCD perform poorly in peer interaction and pro-social behavior. Therefore, it is very important to screen children's motor coordination skills at an early stage. When intervening with children with rDCD, attention should be paid to their emotional and behavioral problems.
Yan et al. (Thu,) studied this question.