Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency –SF: An Investigation of Its Usefulness in Identification of Preschool Children with Movement Difficulties

Fotini Venetsanou, Antonis Kambas, Nickos Aggeloussis, & John Fatouros

Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Hellas

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the ability of Bruininks Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency – Short Form (BOTMP-SF; Brunininks, 1978) to identify preschool-aged children with motor problems,compared to the long form of the battery (BOTMP-LF). One hundred forty four children, 4.5-5.5 years old (M=61.80 months, SD= 5.40) from Peloponnesus, Greece, were assessed by BOTMP- LF. Short form scores were subsequently derived from the results of the above procedure. Pearson product moment correlation coefficients indicated a high correlation between the total scores of the two forms of the battery and between the BOTMP-SF total score and the gross motor composite of the BOTMP-LF. Furthermore a moderate correlation was found between BOTMP-SF total score and the fine motor composite of the BOTMP-LF. Further analyses,however, indicated a significant difference between the total scores of the two forms of the battery. BOTMP-SF total scores (Μ=58.72, SD=7.28) were significantly higher than those of the BOTM- LF (Μ= 47.38, SD=9.43).Finally descriptive statistics revealed that 27.8 % of the children, who according to their performance at BOTM-LF faced movement difficulties, were not identified by BOTMP-SF. It is suggested: a) the modification of both the SF- scoring system and the evaluation total SF - score and b) further investigation of the relationship between the two forms of BOTMP.

Key words: identification, assessment, BOTMP, movement difficulties, preschool age children.