Psychometric Properties of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test in Iraqi Children Aged 5 to 7 Years

Assessment of motor skills paves the way for detecting functional disorders and defects in the body structures and the child's interactions with their surroundings. While analyzing it and its factors affecting the importance of motor skills, experts have developed many tests and techniques to detect motor abnormalities. Most motor growth tests can convert qualitative characteristics of movement into quantitative ones; therefore, they provide objective criteria for investigating and detecting delay and slowness in motor development. One of the best tools for identifying developmental motor delays and motor problems in children is the Bruininks–Oseretsky motor skills tool. Psychometrics of motor skills have had different results in different societies and cultures. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Bruininks–Oseretsky test in Iraqi boys aged 5 to 7 years.

Methods:

The present cross–sectional study was a tool development and the research design. The study's statistical population included Iraqi boys in the age range of 5 to 7 years. The sample included 400 Iraqi boys selected by cluster sampling among those eligible for the study from different parts of Iraq. Children with neurological and musculoskeletal injuries were excluded from the study. The Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (1950) was used in this study. This set of reference norm tests assesses the motor performance of children aged 4.5 to 14.6 years. This test consists of 8 subscales and 46 items that evaluate motor proficiency or movement disorders in gross and fine motor skills. Four subscales measure gross motor skills, three measure fine motor skills, and one measures both motor skills. Motor proficiency test subscales include running speed and agility, balance, coordination of friendship, strength, upper limb coordination, response speed, visual–motor control, and upper limb speed and agility. The Cronbach alpha, intra–class correlation coefficient, test–retest, and confirmatory factor analysis were used to analyze the data. SPSS statistical software version 20 and LISREL were used to analyze the data. A significance level of α = 0.05 was considered significant for statistical calculations.

The results showed that the Bruininks–Oseretsky test and its subscales have the necessary internal reliability and consistency in the community of Iraqi boys aged 5 to 7 years. The reliability coefficients of 0.80, 0.82, 0.70, and 0.86 were calculated for the subscales of motor proficiency of gross skills, fine skills, upper limb coordination, and the whole test. This test has the necessary time reliability (p<0.001). The test–retest reliability coefficients were calculated to be 0.86, 0.82, 0.88, and 0.83, respectively, for motor proficiency in gross skills, fine skills, upper limb coordination, and the whole test. The reliability (between the evaluator and the evaluator) of this test was also at a desirable level (p<0.001). So that the intra–rater reliability with coefficients of 0.82, 0.86, 0.84, and 0.85 and the inter–rater reliability with coefficients of 0.90, 0.85, 0.89, and 0.88 for the subscales of gross skills, fine skills, coordination of upper limb, and the whole test were calculated. In this study, the content validity of this test was also confirmed so that this index was calculated in the range of 0.8 to 1 for the subscales of gross skills, fine skills, and the whole test. Fit goodness indices were calculated as χ2</sup>/df=2.84, RMSEA=0.074, RMR=0.023, GFI=0.91, and AGFI=0.90. The study results showed that the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test and the subscales of gross skills, fine skills, and the whole test in the community of Iraqi boys aged 5 to 7 years have appropriate and acceptable validity and reliability.

Based on the findings of this study, the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test can be used with confidence to assess motor proficiency in the community, and for use in girls and other age groups, it is necessary to design and implement additional studies in the future.