Correlation between Motor Coordination Skills and Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties in Children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder

The purpose of this study was to compare whole factors of emotional and behavioral problems between children with and without developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and investigate the interrelationship between motor coordination skills and emotional and behavioral problems among the children. As a result of screening participants (288 children) based on DSM-5 standard, participants were classified as DCD and typically developing (TD) groups. A total of 60 children (mean age: 8.8 years ± 3.5 months; DCD group n = 30, TD group n = 30) were assessed using the Korean Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition for emotional and behavioral problems. Children with DCD showed significantly poor scores in internalizing problems ( p = 0.009), inattention/hyperactivity ( p = 0.004), and emotional symptoms index ( p = 0.001) among the criteria of emotional problems and in personal adjustment ( p = 0.000) among the criteria of behavioral problems. The MABC-2 composite percentile score of participants showed a significant correlation with internalizing problem behavior ( r = −0.382, p = 0.003), inattention / hyperactivity disorder ( r = −0.409, p = 0.001), emotional symptoms index ( r = −0.483, p = 0.000), and personal adjustment ( r = 0.474, p < 0.01). Our results validated that children with DCD have more emotional and behavioral difficulties than TD children. Our results revealed that the motor coordination skills have correlated with emotional and behavioral difficulties among children.