The Assessment of the Psychomotor Profile in Children: Preliminary Psychometric Analysis of the Portuguese Version of the Batterie d’Evaluation des Fonctions Neuropsychomotrices de L’enfant (NPmot.pt)

Abstract

Psychomotor assessment is an expanding research field. A deep knowledge of the typical development will allow for better child-centered planning. Due to the scarcity of psychomotor assessment instruments validated in Portugal, our research aims to perform a preliminary analysis of the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Battery for Neuropsychomotor functions evaluation (NPmot.pt). The NPmot.pt was translated and adapted to the Portuguese language/culture and applied to 200 children, 4–12 years old (6 y 10 m ± 0 y 4 m), with (n = 150) and without developmental disorders, attending regular school. For content validity, nine experts classified all items according to their relevance, clarity, simplicity and ambiguity. All indexes (IVC > 0.78) pointed out the representativeness of indicators, corroborated by experts proportion agreement (>0.42), and Cohen’s kappa scores (0.02 > k < 0.95). Reliability was confirmed through internal consistency, with Cronbach alphas/split-half (α > 0.45) and temporal reliability (test-retest technique, 0.45 > r < 0.99). Construct validity was analyzed through domains and domains-total correlations, tending to moderate to strong (0.31 > r < 0.92); exploratory factor analysis pointed out an eight-factor solution, explaining 88.5% of the total variance. For discriminant validity, we conducted a comparative study between children with and without developmental disorders that revealed significant differences (p < 0.05). The NPmot.pt seems to confirm validity and reliability for Portugal; however, more studies are needed.