Moving With Confidence: How Does Anxiety Impede Performance in Individuals With Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)?

Abstract

Purpose of Review It is well-established that anxiety levels are higher among people with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) compared to their peers. However, it is unclear whether this anxiety influences movement and behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to review studies demonstrating the influence of anxiety on movement and/or behaviour in non-DCD and DCD populations. Recent Findings When considering non-DCD literature, many studies have illustrated the influence of anxiety on movement. Only two papers were found which explicitly aimed to consider the influence of anxiety on movement in a DCD population. These findings are described and explored against a backdrop of the wider research field. Summary This paper has highlighted the potential role of anxiety in constraining movement patterns in DCD. While a great deal more evidence is needed before definitive conclusions, there is emerging evidence that motor behaviour may be related to task-specific anxiety in children with DCD.

Visual Contribution to Motor Skill DCD Disorders & Walking Physiology Using Spatial Cognition and Linear Geometries as Landmark Coordination Cues

“…In addition, the boys showed greater variability in velocity and acceleration in all three directions compared to the girls. The data suggest that the high incidence of trips and falls seen in children with DCD may be due to the gender difference [2,5,9,30,32].…”

“…The good news is that scientists are starting to understand what causes DCD. They are also finding ways to help children with DCD to move better" [5,6,11,12,16].…”

“…Therapists may ask children with DCD to repeat movements repeatedly. To help the children, therapists might make tasks easier or split them up into smaller parts" [3,4,5,12,18].…”

“…"The difficulties that individuals with DCD experience significantly impact activities of daily living, scholastic achievement, interpersonal relationships, and employment. In addition, secondary consequences of DCD include higher anxiety, poorer levels of physical fitness, and negative self-perceptions" [4][5][6][7][8]. "Despite significant growth in research into DCD over the last four decades, and international clinical practice guidelines being released, there are still pending questions regarding etiology, the influences of co-occurrence, movement behavior, and ways in which change can be promoted" [2,6,[9][10][11][12].…”

Perspective: Acknowledging complexity to advance the understanding of developmental coordination disorder

“…This has the potential to become a vicious circle for those with DCD, in which physical activity is avoided for fear of judgment, and thereby, reductions in exercise lower one's motor skills and mental health (Wipfli et al, 2011;Cairney et al, 2013;Holfelder and Schott, 2014). However, more research is needed to understand these links (Harris et al, 2022). Screening for depression and anxiety is not presently part of DCD assessment, but should be considered for more adequate psychological and social support (Meachon et al, 2022b).…”