Stress And Anxiety Dimensions On Developmental Coordination Disorder

Recent studies suggest that children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) are at risk of internalize psychosocial difficulties as low self-esteem, stress, anxiety and depression influencing negatively on their everyday activities. Consequently, DCD children reject to participate in free and organized physical activities with impact on their full development. The Child Psychology area of study considers the nature of stress and anxiety reactions in four different dimensions: physical, psychological without and with depressive components and psychophysiological. Although stress and anxiety have been identified in DCD children, the literature do not explore the nature of the dimensions of these reactions. The aim of the present study was to compare these stress and anxiety dimensions of DCD children with those of typical development children (TD). Seventy-two children 8 to 12 years old participated in this study. Following the American Psychiatric Association (APA-DSM V) criteria for DCD, two groups of children were composed: 22 DCD children (mean age 10.6 years old) and 51 TD children (mean age 10.5 years old). All children answered the Child Stress Scale (SSC), a questionnaire validated for Brazilian children from 6 to 14 years of age aiming to ascertain the stress and anxiety reaction dimensions. A Psychologist applied the SSC questionnaire for groups of eight children in a quiet private classroom in their own school. Mann-Whitney U test was applied in the results of each reaction dimension of the SSC questionnaire, with p <0,05 for significant differences. The results indicated that DCD children showed more stress and anxiety reactions than TD children on the physical, Z(72) = 2.87 p < 0,01, psychological with depressive components, Z(72) = 2.20 p < 0.05, and psychophysiological, Z(72) = 2.32 p < 0,05 dimensions. No significant differences were found in the reactions of the psychological dimension, Z(72) = 1.77 p = 0,07. The present study indicated that physical, psychological with depressive components and psychophysiological reactions are the most relevant dimensions for stress and anxiety of DCD children. It is also important to discuss that the child stress, anxiety emerge from different dimensions of reactions, and that assessment and analysis of the reaction dimensions are important for identification of the relative consequences of motor difficulties on the DCD children daily activities. Physical therapists worried with stress and anxiety problems should be aware of the results of this study to provide effective treatment and intervention programs.

Acessar