Predictive validity of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire as a screening tool to identify motor skill problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

The Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) has been used to screen children who probably have developmental coordination disorder (DCD).

Aims

We systematically reviewed studies on the predictive validity of the DCDQ and performed a meta-analysis on its diagnostic accuracy.

Methods and procedures

Literature was searched through four electronic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycArticles. A total of 27 studies was selected based on the inclusion criteria. The sensitivity and specificity of the DCDQ were assessed using summary receiver operating characteristic (sROC) curves. Subgroup analyses were conducted according to the DCDQ type, reference standard, and participant type.

Outcomes and results

Overall, the DCDQ has a sensitivity of 0.70 and a specificity of 0.77, showing moderate diagnostic accuracy (area under the curve, 0.80). Subgroup analysis showed that the revised version of the DCDQ had higher diagnostic accuracy than the original version. When the reference standard was the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the sensitivity and specificity of the DCDQ were 0.87 and 0.83, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy was higher in clinical samples compared to the general population.

Conclusions and implications

This study demonstrated that the DCDQ has adequate diagnostic accuracy, suggesting it can help screen children with motor skill deficits.