Movement Assessment Battery for Children—Second Edition (MABC-2): psychometric properties for Iranian children (age band 2)

Purpose Diagnosis of motor problems requires using reliable assessment tools. Movement Assessment Battery for Children—Second Edition (MABC-2) is one of the widely used tests in this area. The first objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of MABC-2 in the Iranian children's communities. The second objective was to compare the norm of the test with the performance of Iranian children to ensure its applicability in the Iranian community. Method Five hundred and three participants aged 7–10 years old were selected from ordinary schools and individually were evaluated using MABC-2. Psychometric properties were evaluated by calculating internal consistency (Cronbach alpha), test–retest and inter-rater reliability (Intra-Class Correlation) ( N = 48), factor validity (Confirmatory factor analysis), and concurrent validity (Pearson correlation coefficient) by comparing MABC-2 to TGMD-2 ( N = 57). We also used t-test to compare the norms of the two populations. Results Internal consistency was acceptable (0.64). Inter-rater and test–retest reliability of the total score was in a good and excellent range: 0.86 and 0.99, respectively. Fit indices confirmed the presumed 3-factor validity of the test without any additional adjustments ( X 2 = 18.29; df = 17; P value = 0.371; RMSEA = 0.012; NFI = 0.953; CFI = 0.996; AGFI = 0.981). The concurrent validity between both MABC-2 and TGMD2 tests was poor (0.31). Also, the results of the performance of the two populations showed significant differences, indicating the necessity of developing norms for the Iranian community. Conclusion Psychometric properties of the MABC-2 were confirmed. M-ABC-2 is also applicable in the Iranian community, but specific norms are required.