Psychometric properties of the Italian Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (LDCDQ-IT)

Background: Early identification of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in children is fundamental to provide the best chance of improving their outcomes. The Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (LDCDQ) is an easy parental screening tool designed to identify preschool children who may be at risk of DCD (Rihtman, 2011). We aimed to generate an Italian translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the LDCDQ (LDCDQ-IT) and test its psychometric properties. Methods: At first, the LDCDQ was translated according to guidelines (Beaton, 2000) and the cross-cultural adaptation process was carried out by an expert committee. In the second phase, parents of 352 typically developing (TD) children (mean=47 months, SD=6.53) and 24 children at risk for motor coordination difficulties (mean=50 months, SD=6.57) completed the LDCDQ-IT. A sub-sample of parents (n=52) repeated the LDCDQ-IT after 2 weeks for test–retest reliability. Ninety children were also assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery (M-ABC-2). Results: The LDCDQ-IT showed high internal consistency (α=0.96) and good test–retest reliability with 14 items (out of 15) with high ICC indices ranging from 0.766 to 0.959. Children’s age and gender did not influence total scores. The correlation obtained between the LDCDQ-IT and MABC-2 total scores (r=0.515; p=.001) suggests concurrent validity of the LDCDQ-IT. Using a cut-off score of ≤66, overall sensitivity and specificity were 79% and 28% respectively (AUC=0.79). Conclusions: The LDCDQ-IT is a reliable tool and can support identification of Italian children aged 3-4 years at risk of developing DCD. Relevance Due to the intervention opportunities afforded through early identification, the LDCDQ-IT has the potential to promote early intervention in pre-school children at risk of DCD, prevent long-term sequelae, and improve outcomes.