Psychometric Properties of Self-report Instruments Used in the Assessment of Developmental Coordination Disorder in Adults: A Systematic Review

Objectives To identify self-report instruments used to assess developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in adults and to evaluate the quality of their psychometric properties. Methods A systematic review was conducted in two stages in accordance with PRISMA 2020 and COSMIN guidance. Seven databases and Google Scholar were searched. Search 1 identified self-report instruments used with adults with DCD. Search 2 retrieved studies on the development, adaptation, and psychometric evaluation of the instruments identified in search 1. Measurement properties and risk of bias were appraised using COSMIN procedures. Results Three instruments were identified: the Adult Developmental Coordination Disorders/Dyspraxia Checklist (ADC), the Functional Difficulties Questionnaire (FDQ-9), and the Adolescents and Adults Coordination Questionnaire (AAC-Q). Across instruments, the strongest evidence was found for selected aspects of structural validity and internal consistency, whereas content validity, reliability, and responsiveness were insufficient or absent. Major limitations were observed in instrument development, concept elicitation, comprehensibility testing, and content-validation procedures. Overall, the available evidence was not strong enough to support any instrument as a psychometrically robust standalone tool for adult DCD assessment. Conclusions Current self-report instruments for adult DCD may help document perceived motor and functional difficulties, but they lack sufficiently strong psychometric evidence to support confident use as standalone measures for diagnosis or research classification. Future studies should prioritize rigorous content validation with adults, followed by high-quality evaluation of structural validity, reliability, measurement error, criterion validity, and responsiveness.