Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatr. Sep 22, 2015; 5(3): 315-329
Published online Sep 22, 2015. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v5.i3.315
Motor abilities of children and adolescents with a psychiatric condition: A systematic literature review
Tine Van Damme, Johan Simons, Bernard Sabbe, Dirk van West
Tine Van Damme, Bernard Sabbe, Dirk van West, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
Johan Simons, Faculty of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Author contributions: Van Damme T, Simons J, Sabbe B and van West D designed the research; Van Damme T and van West D performed the research and analyzed the included studies; Van Damme T wrote the paper; Simons J, Sabbe B and van West D critically analyzed and revised the paper; all authors approved the final version of the paper for publication.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Tine Van Damme, MSc, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium. tine.vandamme@kuleuven.be
Telephone: +32-48-6459788
Received: March 5, 2015
Peer-review started: March 6, 2015
First decision: April 10, 2015
Revised: April 30, 2015
Accepted: August 4, 2015
Article in press: August 7, 2015
Published online: September 22, 2015
Processing time: 205 Days and 20.5 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To summarize research regarding the motor abilities of children and adolescents who suffer from a common psychiatric condition.

METHODS: In order to outline the current knowledge regarding the motor abilities of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) and depression, a comprehensive systematic literature search was carried out using PubMed, Medline and ERIC databases. The databases were searched for relevant English language articles published between January 1990 and April 2014. Only studies that conducted a quantitative evaluation of motor ability and concerned individuals aged 0-18 years were included. A separate search was conducted for each disorder (ASD, ADHD, DBD, depression) in conjunction with each of the following keywords: (psycho/perceptuo) motor/movement skill(s), (psycho/perceptuo) motor/movement abilities, (psycho/perceptuo) motor/movement impairment, (psycho/perceptuo) motor/movement problem(s), motor function, motor coordination, motor performance, motor deficit(s). To detect supplementary relevant literature, the reference lists of the retrieved articles were examined.

RESULTS: The search strategy yielded 51 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. In total, 28 studies were included that examined the motor abilities of children and adolescents with ASD. All studies indicated that they performed below average on various standardized motor assessment instruments. The overall prevalence rate for impairment in motor abilities ranged from 33% to 100%. Twenty-seven studies examined the motor abilities of children and adolescents with ADHD. Depending on the type of motor assessment tool and the cut-off points used by different researchers, prevalence rates of impairment in motor abilities are highly variable and ranged from 8% to 73%. Remarkably, there is a paucity of research addressing the motor abilities of individuals with DBD or depression. Furthermore, methodological problems, such as measurement and comorbidity issues, complicate the generalization of the findings.

CONCLUSION: Research suggests that motor impairment is highly prevalent in some psychiatric conditions, particularly ASD and ADHD. However, future work is necessary to draw sound conclusions.

Keywords: Motor abilities; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Depression; Disruptive Behavior Disorder; Children; Adolescent

Core tip: This systematic review provides a comprehensive overview of current available research regarding the motor abilities of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression. Although motor impairment is not considered to be a major diagnostic feature of any of these psychiatric conditions, the motor ability literature disputes the fact that these individuals possess normal motor abilities. However, future work is necessary to draw sound conclusion. Based on a critical analysis of current evidence, recommendations for future research are proposed.