Association Between Developmental Coordination Disorder Traits, Autistic Traits, and Emotional/Behavioral Problems in Japanese Preschool Children.

Background/

Objectives

Few studies have examined the association between developmental coordination disorder (DCD) traits and emotional/behavioral problems in preschool children, considering the influence of autistic traits. Furthermore, no consistent results have been obtained. The aim of this study was to investigate how DCD traits in preschool children are related to emotional/behavioral problems, controlling for the effects of autistic traits.

Methods

A questionnaire survey was administered to 277 parents of children (154 boys, 73.0 ± 3.8 months) who underwent the school physical examination in Y city near Tokyo, Japan, from October to December 2021. The Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire-Japanese version (DCDQ-J) was used to measure DCD traits, the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) was used to measure autistic traits, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to measure emotional/behavioral problems. In the hierarchical multiple regression analysis, the SDQ was the dependent variable, with gender entered in Step 1, ASSQ in Step 2, and DCDQ in Step 3.

Results

The results showed that autistic traits are associated with preschool children's emotional/behavioral problems, but even after controlling for autistic traits, higher DCD traits had a relationship with higher conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, and peer problems and lower prosocial behavior of preschool children.

Conclusions

This result indicates the need for the support of children with motor skill difficulties. Additionally, a focus on mitigating DCD traits not only improves motor skills but also prevents emotional/behavioral problems in preschool children.