The roles of anxiety, self-concept, self-efficacy, resilience and motor control in the perceptions and actions of adults with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is characterised by impairment of motor skills with negative impacts on everyday life. Although it continues into adulthood in approximately 70% of cases, research on adults with DCD remains limited. This thesis investigated the roles of and relationships between anxiety, self-concept, self-efficacy, resilience and motor control in how adults with DCD perceive and act in everyday surroundings compared to adults with typically developing (TD) motor skills. An initial study examined relationships between general and movement-specific anxiety, self- efficacy, general resilience and self-concept in 74 adults with diagnosed DCD, 26 adults with suspected DCD and 79 TD adults (18-60 years) using an online questionnaire including existent and novel measures. Anxiety, self-efficacy and resilience were poorer in the adults with diagnosed or suspected DCD, while higher resilience related to higher self-efficacy and lower anxiety in the combined DCD group. Those with suspected DCD whose self-concept focused on movement difficulties had lower movement-specific self-efficacy. A second study investigated the roles of general and movement-specific anxiety, self- efficacy, general resilience and motor control in how 41 TD adults thought they would behave (perceptual judgement) and how they actually behaved (executed action). A final study investigated this in 17 adults with DCD and 17 age- and sex-matched TD adults. These involved a questionnaire including existent and novel scales, a perceptual judgement task with static and dynamic conditions, and an executed action task walking through different- sized gaps between doors. Findings were discussed within an ecological framework drawing strongly on Newell’s constraints-based approach (1986). Results indicated a relationship between higher movement-specific anxiety and bigger safety margins in TD adults only. Adults with DCD demonstrated significantly different turning behaviours to the TD adults and less consistent motor control related to bigger relative safety margins. Findings also showed notable differences in the point of behaviour change (critical ratio) between perceptual judgement and executed action, illustrating the importance of studying perception and action in tandem. The findings contribute novel insights into the roles of these factors in how adults with and without DCD perceive and realise their intentions and abilities to act in the world. They offer a springboard for future research and could contribute to further development of strategies for adults with DCD to effectively manage motor skills difficulties.
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