Premium
Prevalence and risk factors of pre‐schoolers' fine motor delay within vulnerable Australian communities
Author(s) -
Strooband Karel F B,
Rosnay Marc,
Okely Anthony D
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/jpc.15152
Subject(s) - medicine , odds ratio , confidence interval , odds , demography , pediatrics , logistic regression , sociology
Aim This study examined the prevalence and risk factors of fine motor delay in Australian pre‐school children from low‐income communities. Methods Children from the Early Start Baseline Study completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (3rd edn.). Age, sex, executive function and family characteristics were assessed and associations with fine motor skills analysed. Results Data were available for 700 children ( M age 54.0 ± 8.6 months, 53.1% boys) of which 77.4% were typically developing, 12.1% at risk and 10.4% delayed for fine motor skill. Children had higher odds of being delayed if they were male (odds ratio (OR) 3.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.22–4.90) or indigenous (OR 3.31, 95% CI 2.12–5.16) and had lower self‐regulatory (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.31–3.58). Higher vocabulary (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.89–0.94), higher family income (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.05–0.90) and family education (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.08–0.74) were associated with lower odds of delay. Conclusion Almost one in four children from vulnerable communities experience fine motor difficulties, highlighting the importance of early screening and targeting key child and environmental risk factors.