Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94

www.elsevier.com/locate/humov

Psychosocial implications of poor motor coordination in

children and adolescents
*
Rosemary A. Skinner, Jan P. Piek
School of Psychology, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box U1987, Perth 6845, WA, Australia

Abstract

Utilising Harter's theory of competence motivation (Harter, S. The determinants and

mediational role of global self-worth in children. In: N. Eisenberg, Contemporary topics in
developmental psychology, Wiley, New York, 1987, pp. 219±242.), the current study examined
perceived competence and social support, and their in¯uence on self-worth and anxiety in
children and adolescents with and without developmental coordination disorder (DCD). A
group of children aged 8±10 years, and a group of adolescents aged 12±14 years, with sig-
ni®cant movement problems were compared with matched control groups on measures of
perceived competence, perceived social support, self-worth and anxiety. Those with DCD were
found to perceive themselves as less competent in several domains, and having less social
support than control participants. Overall, DCD groups had lower self-worth and higher
levels of anxiety than the control groups. Adolescents also perceived themselves as less
competent with poorer social support and lower self-worth than younger children. In addition,
anxiety was signi®cantly higher for the adolescent group compared to their younger coun-
terparts. Ó 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

PsycINFO classi®cation: 2330; 2840; 3250

Keywords: Developmental coordination disorder; Self-perceptions; Anxiety; Self-worth; Social

support; Adolescents

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +618-9266-7990; fax: +618-9266-2464.
E-mail address: j.piek@curtin.edu.au (J.P. Piek).

0167-9457/01/$ - see front matter Ó 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 1 6 7 - 9 4 5 7 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 2 9 - X
74 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94

1. Introduction

Increasingly, the importance of motor competence on the psychosocial

lives of children has been recognised in the literature. Research has linked
poor coordination to attention disorders (Gillberg & Gillberg, 1983; Gill-
berg, Gillberg, & Groth, 1989; Piek, Pitcher, & Hay, 1999), low self-esteem
and poor self-concept (Henderson, May, & Umney, 1989; Losse et al.,
1991; Maeland, 1992; Piek, Dworcan, Barrett, & Coleman, 2000; Schoe-
maker & Kalverboer, 1994), and emotional disorders (Cratty, 1994;
O'Dwyer, 1987; Schoemaker & Kalverboer, 1994). Children with poor
motor coordination have also been found to underachieve educationally
(Fox, 1997; Gillberg, Gillberg, & Rasmussen, 1983; O'Dwyer, 1987) and to
experience diculties with peer relations (Bou€ard, Watkinson, Thompson,
Causgrove Dunn, & Romanow, 1996; Gubbay, 1975; Schoemaker & Kal-
verboer, 1994).
The above research indicates poor motor coordination has far-reaching
implications for social and emotional functioning. Harter (1987) provides a
useful framework for investigating the psychosocial repercussions of DCD.
According to Harter, a major goal of achievement behaviour is the feeling
of competence. Competence refers to one's level of mastery, which may
range from poor to adequate to superior. Children's perceived competence
a€ects their continued interest in an activity and in further mastery at-
tempts. When applied to physical activity, Harter's (1987) theory of com-
petence motivation means that if individuals perceive themselves as
physically competent, they will continue to participate in physical activities.
If, however, they perceive themselves as physically incompetent, they will
limit participation and suspend mastery attempts. In terms of Harter's
competence motivation theory, children with poor coordination are likely
to experience low perceptions of competence in the physical domain as a
consequence of repeated failure at movement skills. If these children avoid
motor activities, for fear of failure and peer criticism, then opportunities to
practise skills and participate socially will be limited. It is predicted that this
would have broad implications on the development of the poorly coordi-
nated child's self-perceptions extending beyond the athletic domain (White,
1959).
There is some indication that this is indeed the case for children with
DCD. Using Harter's self-perception pro®le (Harter, 1985a), children with
DCD have been found to have a lower perception of their athletic com-
petence than their peers (Cantell, Smyth, & Ahonen, 1994; Losse et al.,
 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94 75

1991; Piek et al., 2000; Rose, Larkin, & Berger, 1997; Schoemaker &
Kalverboer, 1994). Some studies have revealed that children with poor
motor skills perceive themselves to be less competent than control children
on the domain of scholastic competence in addition to athletic competence
(Cantell et al., 1994; Piek & Edwards, 1997; Rose et al., 1997). Children
and adolescents with DCD have also been reported to have poorer per-
ceptions of their physical appearance than their coordinated counterparts
(Losse et al., 1991; Rose et al., 1997). Social acceptance has also been
found by some to be lower in children with poor motor coordination
(Rose et al., 1997; Schoemaker & Kalverboer, 1994). Schoemaker and
Kalverboer (1994) found that children with poor coordination tend to
withdraw from social situations in order to prevent failure. This, in
combination with negative reactions from peers, was concluded to con-
tribute to lower perceived competence toward social relationships in poorly
coordinated children. Others however, have not found a signi®cant dif-
ference in perceived social acceptance in poorly coordinated children when
compared to their peers (Cantell et al., 1994; Losse et al., 1991; Maeland,
1992; Piek et al., 2000).
Harter (1987) suggested that not only is one's perceived achievements
important in determining one's regard for self, but the importance one places
on them is also a signi®cant determinant of self-worth. Hence a person's self-
worth would depend upon the extent to which a person thought he/she was
competent in areas which he/she considered important, measured by the
competence/importance discrepancy score on Harter's self-perception pro®le.
Using path analysis to examine the relationship between global self-worth
and domain speci®c evaluations for elementary school children, Harter
(1987) found the perceived competence/importance discrepancy to be a
strong predictor of self-worth. However Marsh (1986) suggested that using
an importance discrepancy score is less than ideal by arguing that a set of
speci®c self-concept domains has much more explanatory power than the
discrepancy score.
Harter (1987) also found that acceptance from others was important in
determining a child's self-worth. This construct of perceived social support
was based on the work of Cooley (cited in Harter, 1987), who postulated that
origins of self are primarily social in nature, and our sense of self lies in our
perceptions of what others think of us. Social support was operationalised by
Harter as the degree to which children felt signi®cant others acknowledged
their worth. In order to tap perceived support Harter developed social sup-
port scales for children and adolescents, with the most recent version
76 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94

involving the measurement of approval, emotional and instrumental support

(Harter & Robinson, 1988). According to Harter (1987), both per-
ceived social support and perceived competence are equally important in
determining self-worth, with the contribution of each construct being rela-
tively independent of each other.
Therefore, in order to understand the development of self-worth, it is
important to consider social support as well as perceived competencies
(Harter, 1987). Whilst several studies cite poor social status and poor peer
integration in children with DCD (e.g., Losse et al., 1991; Schoemaker &
Kalverboer, 1994), perceptions of social support in these children have re-
ceived little attention to date. This may partially explain why studies that
have investigated global self-worth in children with DCD have produced
equivocal ®ndings. Most researchers have failed to ®nd a signi®cant di€er-
ence in global self-worth between children with poor motor skills and those
who are coordinated (Cantell et al., 1994; Maeland, 1992; Piek et al., 2000;
van Rossum & Vermeer, 1994).
In line with Harter's (1987) research it is possible that if children with poor
motor coordination have good levels of perceived social support, this may
bu€er the e€ect of low perceived competence on self-worth. This appeared to
be the case in the study by Piek et al. (2000), where children with DCD had
lowered self-perceptions in the domain of athletic competence, but there were
no di€erences between the DCD and Control groups for perceived social
support or global self-worth. Considering the importance social support may
have on a child's self-worth, it is important to assess children with DCD on
this construct in addition to perceived competence.
In a study of middle school children, Harter found those who like them-
selves as people were found to be the happiest, while those who had a less
positive view of themselves reported more feelings of sadness and depression.
Whilst Harter has explored the link between self-worth and depression,
others have utilised Harter's model explore anxiety within the sports arena.
For example research indicates that those children anxious about sports
performance experience lower self-esteem than the less anxious children
(Brustad, 1988; Passer, 1983). For the child with poor motor coordination,
negative appraisal from signi®cant others and social comparison with
teammates can all add to the milieu of poor self-concept, inaptness and fear
of future participation manifesting in symptoms of anxiety.
Few studies have investigated anxiety in children with DCD. Schoemaker
and Kalverboer (1994) examined the social and a€ective concomitants
of poor motor coordination in children aged 6 to 9 years. A signi®cant
 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94 77

di€erence was found on state and trait anxiety between the children with
poor motor coordination and the control children, with the poorly coordi-
nated children being more anxious. The children were presented with the
state-trait anxiety inventory (Spielberger, 1973) prior to motor assessment
resulting in a rise in worrying thoughts and emotionality reactions for 33% of
the poorly coordinated children. Twenty-two percent of children with poor
motor coordination also reported more trait anxiety, a more stable form of
anxiety. The authors' inspection of the individual questions revealed that the
poorly coordinated children endorsed questions dealing with feelings of
shyness, unhappiness and brooding about what other people think of them
more frequently than the control children.
Based on Harter's (1987) model of self-worth, the current study investi-
gated the existence of secondary self-concept and anxiety problems in chil-
dren with DCD in the middle primary school and in those who have made
the transition to high school. Participants with and without DCD were
compared on the constructs of perceived competence, perceived social sup-
port, global self-worth and anxiety in order to provide further knowledge of
the psychosocial diculties faced by those with DCD.
Whilst a number of recent studies have explored the social and emotional
impact of DCD on children, fewer studies have investigated the impact of
DCD on adolescents. Those that have been conducted on adolescents have
been longitudinal in nature where children have been identi®ed in early to
mid-childhood. These studies have found that adolescents with DCD expe-
rience persistent diculties in motor skills in addition to behavioural, emo-
tional and social diculties (Gillberg et al., 1983; Losse et al., 1991;
Roussounis, Gaussen, & Stratton, 1987). A cross-sectional design was uti-
lised rather than longitudinal, as a previous diagnosis of DCD may confound
the age e€ects. Given the cumulative e€ect of failed mastery attempts and
increasing accuracy of self-judgments as children get older, it is expected that
the psychosocial outcome for adolescents with DCD will be poorer than for
the younger group of children.

2. Method

2.1. Participants

The 218 participants in the study were selected from seven primary
schools and eight high schools in the Perth metropolitan area. The
78 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94

Table 1
Means and standard deviations for the DCD and control groups on estimated Verbal IQ
Age levels
8±10 years 12±14 years

DCD Control DCD Control

n ˆ 58 n ˆ 58 n ˆ 51 n ˆ 51
M 102 104 97 97
S.D. 13.50 16.05 9.27 9.70

sample comprised two age groups: 58 children with DCD and 58

control children aged 8±10 years; and 51 adolescents with DCD and 51
control adolescents aged 12±14 years. The classi®cation of the partici-
pants at both ages was based on performance on the movement as-
sessment battery for children (M-ABC) test (Henderson & Sugden, 1992)
and the Wechsler intelligence scale for children (WISC-III; Wechsler,
1992). The DCD group consisted of those participants who scored be-
low the 15th percentile on the total score of the M-ABC test. The cut-
o€ point for the DCD group was selected in line with the recommen-
dations of Henderson and Sugden (1992). Total impairment scores be-
low the 5th percentile are indicative of a de®nite movement problem.
Scores between the 5th and 15th percentile suggest borderline motor
coordination problems. The control group consisted of those participants
whose scores were above the 50th percentile on the total score of the
M-ABC test.
Participants were excluded from the study if their estimated Verbal IQ
was below 80 (Wechsler, 1981). Table 1 gives the mean estimated Verbal
IQ for each of the four groups. There were no signi®cant group di€er-
ences, t…100† ˆ 0:002; P > 0:05, and no signi®cant age di€erences, t…100† ˆ
0:02; P > 0:05.
Participants were matched on age (to within six months) and gender.
The younger groups had 40 girls and 18 boys in each, whereas the ad-
olescent groups had 29 girls and 22 boys in each. The gender distribution
in favour of girls, particularly in the younger group was unexpected
as other studies report DCD is more frequently diagnosed in boys than
in girls (Henderson & Hall, 1982). However in the current study more
girls returned the consent form than boys. Hence the population
pool from which the sample was selected was biased in favour of girls
initially.
 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94 79

2.2. Measures

2.2.1. M-ABC test (Henderson & Sugden, 1992)

Level of motor functioning was measured using the M-ABC test. This is
relatively easy to administer and includes eight items measuring manual
dexterity, ball skills and static and dynamic balance. Each task is given a
score from 0 to 5 with the scores being summed to produce a total im-
pairment score. Higher scores indicate increasing level of motor impair-
ment. The M-ABC test has been validated against other instruments
designed to measure similar constructs (Barnett & Henderson, 1992; Laszlo
& Bairstow, 1985; Riggen, Ulrich, & Ozmun, 1990). Test-retest reliability
of the M-ABC test is reported as 0.75 and the inter-tester reliability is
0.70.

2.2.2. Wechsler intelligence scale for children (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1992)

A short form of the WISC-III was used to determine the estimated Verbal
IQ. The Similarities and Vocabulary tests from the Verbal section were
chosen on the basis of their high reliability coecients (Sattler, 1988). Other
studies with children diagnosed with DCD have also used these subtests to
determine the estimates of Verbal IQ (Henderson & Hall, 1982; Lord &
Hulme, 1987; Piek & Coleman-Carman, 1995).

2.2.3. State-trait anxiety inventory for children/adults (STAI; Spielberger,

1983)
The STAI was used to determine the level of state and trait anxiety in
the younger and older children. The STAI comprises separate self-report
scales for measuring state and trait anxiety. The S-Anxiety scale consists
of 20 statements that evaluate how the respondent is feeling ``right now,
at this moment''. The T-Anxiety scale consists of twenty statements that
assess how people generally feel. The STAI has been used extensively
in research and clinical practice to assess worry, apprehension, and ten-
sion. The reliability and validity of the scale are adequate (Spielberger,
1973).

2.2.4. Self-perception pro®le (Harter, 1985a; Harter, 1985b)

The self-perception pro®le was designed to assess self-perceptions and
global self-worth. The measure has versions appropriate for both children
80 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94

and for adolescents and is designed to measure self-evaluation across do-

mains of scholastic competence, social acceptance, athletic competence,
physical appearance and behavioural conduct. For adolescents three addi-
tional subscales are included: job competence, romantic appeal, and close
friendship. Both versions also include a subscale designed to evaluate global
self-worth that assesses self-esteem independent from the competence do-
mains. A structured alternative format is used. The participant is ®rst asked
to identify which child/teenager is most like him or her, and they are then
asked whether this is only sort of true or really true for him/her. The
overlap between content across the two versions of the self-perception
pro®le allows for a switch of versions at the appropriate age level and al-
lows for comparison of the subscale scores across the two versions (Byrne,
1996; Harter, 1985b). Overall internal consistency reliability ranges from
0.74 to 0.92.

2.2.5. Social support scale for older children and adolescents (Harter &
Robinson, 1988)
This version of Harter's social support scale crosses source of support
and type of support. There are four sources of support ± parents, teachers,
classmates and close friends and three types of support, approval, emo-
tional and instrumental support. For all sources of support, each type is
represented. Items are scored on a four-point scale where the presence of
support ± really true is 4, presence of support ± sort of true is 3, absence ±
sort of true is 2, and absence ± really true is 1. The instrument contains the
same question format devised for the self-perception pro®le. Internal con-
sistency ranges from 0.72 to 0.88. The measure is suitable for children aged
8±18 years of age.

2.3. Procedure

The research was carried out according to the ethical guidelines laid down
by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. Before
commencing the study, consent was obtained from parents, principals and
teachers. Participants were tested over two sessions at the child's school. For
the ®rst session each child was individually assessed on the STAI, which was
administered immediately prior to administration of the M-ABC test. This is
in line with the procedure used by Schoemaker and Kalverboer (1994). Each
 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94 81

child was informed that once he/she had completed the STAI he/she would be
participating in some physical activities such as throwing and catching a ball
and balancing. The participants were then administered the M-ABC test,
followed by the WISC-III. Session one took approximately ®fty minutes
altogether.
In the second testing session, participants completed the self-perception
pro®le and the social support scale, which took approximately forty
minutes and was administered in small groups of three to four partici-
pants. For children younger than nine years of age the items were read
out loud.

2.4. Data analysis

Multivariate analyses of covariance were used to compare the DCD and

control groups on the dependent variables, with Verbal IQ as a covariate.
MANOVA is popularly recommended for use with dependent variables that
are correlated to reduce Type I error. The familywise error rate was set at
a ˆ 0:05. Power was set at b ˆ 0:2 allowing a 20% chance of a type II error.
Power analysis and e€ect size were determined and used to interpret the
results.
MANCOVA was employed to examine both Group (control and DCD)
and Age (children and adolescents) di€erences for all variables except self-
perception. This was analysed separately for each age level as the number of
items and the number of domains included in the measure di€ered between
older and younger children. Also, while the layout and wording for the STAI
di€ered between age groups, the number of items was the same, constructs
being tapped by each item were the same and the method of scoring was the
same. Hence age groups were combined for analysis on this dependent
variable. ANOVA was used to examine global self-worth between groups and
ages.
Multiple linear regression was used to determine which domains of self-
perception and which sources of social support were predictors of self-
worth. As in a previous study (Piek et al., 2000), the two groups, control
and DCD, were examined in separate analyses. The two age groups
were also examined separately due to the additional domains of self-
worth for the adolescent groups, resulting in a total of four regression
analyses.
82 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94

Table 2
Means and standard deviations for the DCD and control groups on the M-ABC test
Age levels
8±10 years 12±14 years

DCD Control DCD Control

n ˆ 58 n ˆ 58 n ˆ 51 n ˆ 51
M 14.58 2.06 16.06 2.47
S.D. 3.29 1.38 3.87 1.31

3. Results

3.1. Performance on the M-ABC test

Table 2 displays the mean score and standard deviation for the M-ABC
test for each group. There was no signi®cant di€erence across age for the
M-ABC test, F …1; 216† ˆ 0:96; P ˆ 0:32.
Of those identi®ed with DCD, 34 children (59%) and 41 adolescents (80%)
scored below the 5th percentile on the M-ABC test, and 24 children and 10
adolescents scored between the 6th and 15th percentile.

3.2. Performance on the self-perception pro®le

3.2.1. 8±10 year old children

Table 3 displays the mean score on the self-perception pro®le. Inspection
of these means suggests that children in the DCD group perceived themselves
as less competent overall compared to their peers. A two-group MANCOVA
con®rms this, T 2 …6; 107† ˆ 4:6; P < 0:001.
Inspection of the univariate F values found that scholastic competence,
athletic competence, physical appearance, and self-worth were signi®cantly
lower for children with DCD than for those in the control group. Table 4
gives the F values, e€ect size and statistical power for each of the univariate
analyses.

3.2.2. 12±14 year old children

Table 3 displays the mean score on the self-perception pro®le for both the
DCD and control groups aged 12±14 years. A linear combination of scho-
lastic competence, social acceptance, athletic competence, physical appear-
 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94 83

Table 3
Self-perception means for children and adolescents with and without DCD
Subscales Age levels
8±10 years 12±14 years

DCD Control DCD Control

n ˆ 58 n ˆ 58 n ˆ 51 n ˆ 51
Scholastic
M 2.73 3.07 2.74 2.93
S:D: 0.54 0.62 0.58 0.56
Social acceptance
M 2.80 3.03 3.12 3.32
S:D: 0.66 0.70 0.48 0.49
Athletic
M 2.67 3.21 2.56 3.17
S:D: 0.69 0.58 0.83 0.74
Physical appearance
M 2.94 3.22 2.30 2.74
S:D: 0.59 0.59 0.69 0.67
Behavioural conduct
M 3.16 3.18 2.69 2.89
S:D: 0.65 0.56 0.56 0.64
Global self-worth
M 3.08 3.41 2.80 3.20
S:D: 0.65 0.52 0.57 0.46
Job competence
M NA NA 2.90 3.03
S:D: NA NA 0.59 0.57
Romantic appeal
M NA NA 2.56 2.56
S:D: NA NA 0.58 0.59
Close friendships
M NA NA 3.20 3.40
S:D: NA NA 0.72 0.74

ance, job competence, romantic appeal, behavioural conduct, close friend-

ships and self-worth signi®cantly separated the DCD group from the control
group, T 2 …9; 91† ˆ 3:07; P < 0:01. Univariate F values revealed that on the
domains of social acceptance, athletic competence, physical appearance, and
self-worth adolescents with DCD had signi®cantly lower perceived compe-
tence than for those in the control group.

3.2.3. Global self-worth

A 2 …Group†  2 …Age† ANCOVA was used to investigate age and group
di€erences for Global Self-Worth. There was a signi®cant group e€ect,
84 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94

Table 4
Univariate results for perceived competence and global self-worth subscales for children and adolescents
Subscales 8±10 years 12±14 years
F …1; 113† Eta2 Power F …1; 99† Eta2 Power
Scholastic 9.49 0.077 0.86 3.18 0.031 0.42
Social accep- 2.98 0.026 0.40 4.17 0.040 0.52
tance
Athletic 20.03 0.151 0.99 14.92 0.131 0.96
Physical 6.51 0.055 0.71 10.70 0.098 0.90
appearance
Behavioural 0.04 0 0.05 2.55 0.025 0.35
conduct
Global self- 8.81 0.069 0.82 12.86 0.115 0.94
worth
Job compe- NA 0.80 0.008 0.14
tence
Romantic NA 0 0 0.05
appeal
Close friend- NA 1.06 0.011 0.17
ships
 P < 0:05.
 P < 0:01:
 P < 0:001.

F …1; 213† ˆ 5:64; P < 0:05, and a signi®cant age e€ect, F …1; 213† ˆ 6:37;
P < 0:05, but no signi®cant interaction e€ect, F …1; 213† ˆ 3:51; P > 0:05.
Those in the DCD group reported signi®cantly lower global self-worth than
the control group. In addition adolescents reported signi®cantly lower global
self-worth than the younger children.

3.3. Performance on the social support scale

Table 5 displays the mean scores on the social support scale for the DCD
and control groups at both age levels. The data were analysed using a
2 …group†  2 …age† MANCOVA. The main e€ect for group was signi®cant,
T 2 …3; 211† ˆ 4:9; P < 0:01, indicating that those in the DCD groups had
signi®cantly lower perception of social support than the control groups. A
signi®cant main e€ect was found for age, T 2 …3; 11† ˆ 6:9; P < 0:001. Overall
those in the older age groups perceived themselves as having signi®cantly less
social support than the younger children. No signi®cant interaction was
found between age and group.
To establish where the signi®cant di€erences occurred, the univariate F
values were consulted for both group and age di€erences. Table 6 displays the
 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94 85

Table 5
Social support means for children and adolescents with and without DCD
Subscales Age levels
8±10 years 12±14 years

DCD Control DCD Control

n ˆ 58 n ˆ 58 n ˆ 51 n ˆ 51
Approval
M 3.25 3.45 3.13 3.32
S:D: 0.49 0.49 0.39 0.45
Emotional
M 3.18 3.49 3.07 3.20
S:D: 0.45 0.49 0.42 0.45
Instrumental
M 3.35 3.61 3.17 3.31
S:D: 0.43 0.38 0.41 0.39

Table 6
Univariate results for perceived social support subscales
Subscales Coordination Age
2
F …3; 211† Eta Power F …3; 211† Eta2 Power

Approval 9.4 0.042 0.86 2.12 0.010 0.30
Emotional 12.52 0.056 0.94 9.59 0.043 0.86
Instrumental 13.09 0.058 0.95 15.67 0.069 0.97
**
P < 0:01:
***
P < 0:001:

univariate results. Inspection of the univariate F values revealed signi®cant

di€erences between the Control and DCD groups on approval, emotional
and instrumental support. Those in the DCD group reported less social
support on these domains. Signi®cant age di€erences were apparent on two
of the dependent variables: emotional and instrumental support. Those in the
older age group reported less social support than the younger children on
these domains.

3.4. State and trait anxiety

Table 7 displays the mean score for anxiety for children with DCD and the
control children at both age levels. MANCOVA revealed a signi®cant main
e€ect for group, T 2 …2; 212† ˆ 9:25; P < 0:001 indicating that those in the
DCD group were signi®cantly more anxious than the control group. The
86 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94

Table 7
State and trait anxiety means and standard deviations for children and adolescents with and without DCD
Subscales Age levels
8±10 years 12±14 years

DCD Control DCD Control

n ˆ 58 n ˆ 58 n ˆ 51 n ˆ 51
State
M 28.79 26.55 34.53 31.11
S:D: 4.14 3.72 7.10 6.24
Trait
M 33.86 31.60 38.68 34.29
S:D: 6.64 5.48 7.40 6.86

main e€ect for age was signi®cant T 2 …2; 212† ˆ 20:84; P < 0:01, indicating
that older children were signi®cantly more anxious than their younger
counterparts. The interaction between group and age was not signi®cant.
The univariate F values revealed that children in the DCD group reported
signi®cantly higher levels of both state, F …2; 212† ˆ 13:17; P < 0:001, and
trait, F …2; 212† ˆ 13:60; P < 0:001, anxiety compared to those in the control
group. Univariate F values for age level revealed that those in the older age
bracket had signi®cantly higher levels of both state, F …2; 212† ˆ 40:46;
P < 0:001, and trait, F …2; 212† ˆ 14:98; P < 0:001, anxiety than the younger
children. Inspection of the e€ect sizes indicated the relationship between
coordination and anxiety, and age and anxiety were small.

3.5. Multiple regression

3.5.1. 8±10 year old children

For 8±10 year old children in the control group, eight independent variables
(®ve domains of self-perception and three sources of support) accounted for
70% …R2 ˆ 0:70† of the variance in global self-worth. This was statistically
signi®cant, F …8; 48† ˆ 13:66; P < 0:05. Only two of the eight variables were
statistically signi®cant predictors of self-worth, namely physical appearance,
t…48† ˆ 4:70; P < 0:05, and athletic competence, t…48† ˆ 2:98; P < 0:05. The
standardised coecient …b† for physical appearance was 0.46 …standard
error ˆ 0:087†, and for athletic competence 0.36 …standard error ˆ 0:109†.
For 8±10 year old children in the DCD group, eight independent variables
(®ve domains of self-perception and three sources of support) accounted for
51% …R2 ˆ 0:51† of the variance in global self-worth. This was statistically
 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94 87

signi®cant, F …8; 49† ˆ 6:29; P < 0:05. However, there were no independent
variables that separately signi®cantly predicted self-worth.

3.5.2. 12±14 year old children

For the adolescent control group, 11 independent variables (eight domains
of self-perception and three sources of support) accounted for 54%
…R2 ˆ 0:54† of the variance in global self-worth. This was statistically signif-
icant, F …11; 39† ˆ 4:12; P < 0:05. Three variables were statistically signi®cant
predictors of self-worth. For physical appearance, t…39† ˆ 3:26; P < 0:05, the
standardised coecient …b† was 0.56 with a standard error of 0.117; for close
friendship, t…39† ˆ 2:98; P < 0:05, the standardised coecient …b† was 0.44
with a standard error of 0.092 and for instrumental support, t…39† ˆ
2:06; P < 0:05, the standardised coecient …b† was 0.45 with a standard error
of 0.26.
For 12±14 year olds in the DCD group, 11 independent variables accounted
for 63% …R2 ˆ 0:63† of the variance in global self-worth. This was statistically
signi®cant, F …11; 39† ˆ 5:98; P < 0:05. In this case, there were four variables
that were signi®cant predictors of self-worth, namely physical appearance,
t…39† ˆ 5:56; P < 0:05 …b ˆ 0:76; standard error ˆ 0:112†, scholastic com-
petence, t…39† ˆ 2:33; P < 0:05 …b ˆ 0:28; standard error ˆ 0:118†, romantic
appeal, t…39† ˆ 2:30; P < 0:05 …b ˆ 0:32; standard error ˆ 0:136†, and in-
strumental support, t…39† ˆ 2:68; P < 0:05 …b ˆ 0:43; standard error ˆ 0:218†.

4. Discussion

The current study provided a comprehensive examination of the psycho-

social variables comparing children and adolescents with and without DCD.
The ®ndings revealed that children and adolescents with DCD have lower
self-perceptions and global self-worth than their coordinated peers. Those
with DCD consistently viewed themselves as less competent than their peers
over many domains, indicating that the group di€erence for perceived
competence may not be speci®c to the athletic domain. That is, perceived
competence may be a€ected on a number of domains for these children. In
addition, those with DCD perceived themselves as having lower levels of
social support and reported more symptoms of anxiety. Overall the pattern
of results also indicated that higher levels of self-competence were related to
higher levels of self-worth and lower levels of anxiety.
88 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94

As predicted, children and adolescents with DCD have lower self-per-

ceptions in the domain of athletic competence than their peers. This ®nding
supports other research which indicates that those with poor motor coordi-
nation have signi®cantly lower perceptions of athletic competence than
control children (Cantell et al., 1994; Maeland, 1992; Piek et al., 2000; Rose
et al., 1997; van Rossum & Vermeer, 1990).
Younger children with DCD reported lower perceived competence on the
scholastic domain compared to their peers. Whilst it is commonly reported in
the literature that children with DCD exhibit poor school achievement
(Geuze & B orger, 1993; Losse et al., 1991; Sovik & Maeland, 1986), few
studies have investigated perceived competence for children with DCD in this
domain. The link between DCD and perceptions of scholastic competence
found in the current study is consistent with that of Rose et al. (1997). Whilst
Cantell et al. (1994) found adolescents with DCD had signi®cantly lower
perceptions of scholastic performance than their peers, this was not found for
the adolescent group in the current study. However those with DCD in the
Cantell study had signi®cantly lower IQ scores than the control group; in the
current study there was no signi®cant group di€erence on the estimated
Verbal IQ.
The observed di€erence between the DCD group and control group for
social acceptance in the adolescent group provides some support for the link
between social status and movement ability (Losse et al., 1991). Those in the
adolescent DCD group had signi®cantly lower perceptions of their social
acceptance than their peers. This is consistent with the ®ndings of Losse et al.
(1991), who found adolescents aged 15±17 years with poor motor coordi-
nation reported signi®cantly less social acceptance than the control group.
The link between social acceptance and DCD was not supported in the
younger age group, in contrast to past research which has reported poor
perceptions of social acceptance for primary school children with DCD
(Rose et al., 1997; Schoemaker & Kalverboer, 1994). The importance of
social support and acceptance from peers and close friends changes from
childhood to older adolescence. The transition to high school has been as-
sociated with increased importance of peer social support (Harter, 1987),
with approval from classmates being central in determining popularity and
general social acceptance. Harter (1987) found a high correlation between
physical competence and social competence or popularity. For the adolescent
with poor motor coordination peer approval may not be forthcoming,
making the early years at high school more dicult for those with poor
coordination (Evans & Roberts, 1987).
 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94 89

At both age levels, the DCD groups reported signi®cantly lower per-
ceptions of their physical appearance than the control groups, a ®nding
consistent with Rose et al. (1997) in a sample of 8±12 year old children. In
a follow-up study of adolescents with DCD aged 15±17 years, Losse et al.
(1991) found that those with poor motor coordination reported signi®cantly
less satisfaction with their physical appearance than the control group.
Harter (1987) research implicated physical appearance as the most impor-
tant domain in determining children's self-worth. This ®nding is largely
supported in the current study with physical appearance being identi®ed as
a signi®cant predictor of self-worth for both the control groups and the
adolescent DCD group. Piek et al. (2000) also found that physical ap-
pearance was a signi®cant predictor of self-worth in both control children
and children with DCD aged between 8 and 12 years. They also found that
scholastic competence was a signi®cant predictor of self-worth for children
with DCD but not control children. In the current study, both of these
factors were found to signi®cantly predict self-worth in the adolescent
group with DCD.
Social acceptance was found by Harter to be the second largest con-
tributor to self-worth. This was not supported in the current study, as this
was not identi®ed as a signi®cant predictor of self-worth in any of the four
groups of children. Interestingly, for the younger control group, athletic
competence was found to be a determinant of self-worth. This link between
lowered global self-worth and athletic competence supports theoretical
proposals that athletic or physical competence is an important determinant
of self-worth.
Harter (1987) found that individuals who experience repeated failure de-
velop perceptions of incompetence and feelings of being ine€ectual within
their general environment, leading to low self-worth. The current study in-
dicates that for children and adolescents with DCD, their self-perceptions are
a€ected across a variety of domains, with DCD children having lower self-
perceptions overall than the control group. The relationship of these domains
to self-worth does not appear to be clear-cut in the current study indicating
that the way in which dependent variables may interrelate to a€ect self-worth
is complex. Indeed, no one variable was found to be a signi®cant predictor of
self-worth for younger DCD children, yet as a whole they accounted for 51%
of the variance in global self-worth. Furthermore, for adolescent groups, the
perception of having close friends appeared to impact on the self-worth of the
control group, whereas romantic appeal appeared to be an important factor
for the DCD group.
90 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94

The ®ndings reported by Harter (1987) on the development of self-worth

suggest social support is also an important factor in determining self-worth.
In the current study, both DCD groups reported lower perceptions of social
support than their coordinated counterparts. Whilst few studies have em-
pirically measured social support in children with DCD, many studies make
reference to poor social support for this group (e.g., Schoemaker & Kal-
verboer, 1994; Losse et al., 1991). For example, Losse et al. (1991) found
school reports which indicated that adolescents with DCD had fewer friends,
were more socially isolated and were at greater risk of bullying than their
coordinated peers. When the contribution of approval, emotional and in-
strumental support to self-worth was investigated, these were not found to
individually contribute to self-worth for the younger groups. However, for
both control and DCD adolescent groups, instrumental support was found
to be a signi®cant predictor of self-worth. In other words, adolescents' self-
worth is a€ected by the degree to which they feel that signi®cant others help
them out by doing things for them. This is the ®rst study to determine the
e€ect of type of social support on self-worth in adolescents with DCD.
The emotional impact of DCD has to date attracted limited research.
Given the lowered self-worth found in DCD groups, Harter (1987) would
predict that this would have an emotional impact on these individuals. In the
present study, children and adolescents with DCD were found to signi®cantly
di€er from control groups on both state and trait anxiety. Those in DCD
groups reported higher levels of anxiety than their matched controls. Given
the poorly coordinated child's history of failure in the movement domain, it
is not surprising that these children may perceive expected performance on
movement tasks as threatening because of lowered expectancy of success.
Interestingly the anxiety experienced by those with DCD does not appear to
be situation-speci®c with the anxiety generalising to other situations, as in-
dicated by higher levels of trait anxiety for these groups. The ®ndings are
consistent with those by Schoemaker and Kalverboer (1994) who found that
young children with DCD reported signi®cantly more symptoms of state and
trait anxiety than those in the control group.
For all variables where the two age groups were compared, adolescents
(from both control and DCD groups) reported more diculties than the
younger groups. That is, adolescents reported signi®cantly lower social
support, lower levels of self-worth and higher levels of anxiety than the
younger children. It should be noted that the gender distribution between the
adolescent and younger groups di€ered, with younger groups having more
girls than boys. However, gender di€erences do not appear to explain the
 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94 91

di€erences found between the two age groups as past research has found that
girls have lower self-worth and experience more anxiety than boys (Ely &
Stevenson, 1999; Rose et al., 1997).
Rather, the above ®nding is consistent with previous research that indi-
cates adolescents have poorer self-evaluations than younger children. Many
researchers have reported age e€ects for self-concept (e.g., Hirsch & Rapkin,
1987; Marsh & Gouvernet, 1989; Marsh, Barnes, Cairns, & Thomas, 1984)
with one's self-esteem and perceived competence declining in adolescence.
The decline in self-evaluation found during adolescence may re¯ect a more
realistic, objective view of the self that occurs as a result of cognitive matu-
ration and additional life experience (Harter & Robinson, 1988; Marsh et al.,
1984).
In conclusion, the current study has indicated that poor motor skills may
have adverse social and emotional implications for children and adolescents.
The diculties experienced are not con®ned to the movement domain but
may a€ect how children and adolescents view themselves physically, socially
and scholastically. Children and adolescents with DCD are less happy with
their lives, and place less value on themselves than their coordinated coun-
terparts. Adolescents appear to be more disadvantaged socially and emo-
tionally, perceiving less social support and experiencing more anxiety than
younger children. Overall Harter's measures appeared to be appropriate
measures for determining self-perceptions, self-worth and social support in
the population sampled. However, whilst her measures have been well used,
validity of the measures has not been adequately tested.
Considering the importance coordination plays in psychosocial develop-
ment, it is crucial for identi®cation and intervention to occur early for those
with DCD. In addition it would appear that in order to improve the child's
self-worth, attention needs to be paid not only to improving self-perceptions
but bolstering social support from signi®cant others. Given di€erences in the
interrelationships between variables for DCD and control groups in the
current study, future research is needed to further investigate the interplay
between variables and to examine the most salient contributors to self-worth
and a€ect for those with and without DCD.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Megan Meadows, Marie Trifon and Robyn Willis
for their assistance in the initial screening of participants. Also, thanks to
92 R.A. Skinner, J.P. Piek / Human Movement Science 20 (2001) 73±94

Dr Nicholas Barrett for his statistical advice. We are sincerely grateful to

the schools, parents and children who were willing to participate in this
project.

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