ASSESSING CHILDREN AT RISK IN UAE: PILOT USE OF THE MBC ARABIC VERSION IN PRIMARY SCHOOL SETTINGS

Abstract

"Children’s emotional, behavioral and developmental problems can be properly identified and assessed based on observations from their teachers and parents. The Motor Behavior Checklist (MBC; Efstratopoulou, Janssen, Simons, 2012a) was designed to assist classroom teachers and Physical Education (PE) teachers in assessing their students’ motor-related behaviors. The instrument has already been successfully translated and culturally adapted into six languages and used in a number of research studies internationally. The present study aimed to apply the newly developed Arabic version of the MBC checklist at mainstream Schools in UAE and assess the motor behavioral problems in typical school-aged children. A sample of 294 children aged 2- 18 years were assessed by their teachers in school settings using the 59 items checklist for children analyzing data on the 7 clusters (rules breaking, attention, hyperactivity, low energy, stereotyped behavior, social interaction, self-regulation). Findings indicated that boys were scoring higher on the Attention, Hyperactivity, and social problems scales. Gender differences and the possible effects of behavioral challenges are also explored and discussed in the study. Early assessment and Behavioral management strategies are recommended by the authors."