Observational studyJournal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand Therapists
Have children's manual dexterity skills changed in the past 40 years? A cross-sectional observational norm comparison study.
Observational study in Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand Therapists. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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6 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundNorms for children aged 6-19 years were developed in 1985 for the Box and Block Test (BBT) and updated in 2013 for 3-10-year-olds. Evidence suggests that past normative data may need to be updated due to changes in children's hand use over the past 40 years. PURPOSE: To compare children's performance on the BBT with existing 1985 normative data. STUDY
designSecondary analysis of a cross-sectional observational study to validate the Complete Minnesota Dexterity Test (CMDT) using the BBT.
methodsAll were healthy volunteers, aged 7 to 18 years, with no known physical, cognitive, or emotional conditions. Participants completed study procedures in a pediatric hospital. During data collection we noted low performance on the BBT and hypothesized a decline compared to the 1985 norms. Participants completed one trial of the BBT with each hand. We compared our sample to the normative sample using mean number of blocks placed in 60 seconds and standard error of the means using two-tailed, one sample t-tests.
resultsOf 816 children screened, 181 were eligible and consented to participate. A total of 98 females and 83 males participated. Each gender-by-age group-by-hand category ranged from 4-21 participants. In each group, means were statistically significantly lower than norms, indicated by nonoverlapping 95% confidence intervals and t-test results. The difference in blocks placed in 60 seconds ranged from 9.1 to 31.3 fewer blocks. DISCUSSION: This study suggests that children's manual dexterity has declined over the past 40 years. Clinicians should consider this when using the BBT to evaluate performance. This study lacked enough subjects to establish new normative data but suggests the 1985 norms need to be updated.
conclusionsOur findings provide evidence of a decline in manual dexterity among children on the BBT since 1985.
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