The associations of self-perception, movement competence, and clinical features of young school-aged children with glaucoma

The purpose of the study was to determine the associations of self-perception, motor skills, and clinical features of young school-age children with glaucoma (CG). This is a cross-sectional observational study. Children from preschool to second grade, including CG ( N = 19), children with amblyopia (CA, N = 28), and controls ( N = 32), completed the Manual Dexterity and Aiming and Catching Scales of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2nd edition (MABC-2), including Manual Dexterity, Aiming and Catching, and Balance. CG, CA, and their parent completed the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children, respectively, assessing the child’s cognitive competence, peer acceptance, physical competence, and maternal acceptance. The Kruskal–Wallis H test and Bonferroni post hoc test compared motor skills among groups. Spearman’s correlation analysis evaluated the correlations between motor skills, self-perception, and clinical features. The CG reported lower peer acceptance than CA ( P = 0.040), and the parents of CG reported lower cognitive competence than CG reported ( P = 0.046). Compared with controls, CG had worse performance of Aiming and Catching, and Balance ( P = 0.018 and P = 0.001), and CA had worse performance of Balance ( P = 0.009). The motor skills were comparable between CG and CA. For CG, older age correlated with worse competence of Aiming and Catching ( r = − 0.620, P = 0.005), better best-corrected visual acuity of better-seeing eye correlated with higher competence of Manual Dexterity and Balance ( r = − 0.494, P = 0.032, and r = − 0.516, P = 0.024), and longer duration of glaucoma correlated with worse competence of Manual Dexterity ( r = − 0.487, P = 0.034). Conclusion : Glaucoma and amblyopia have significant negative impacts on children’s daily motor skills. The acuity of a better-seeing eye is an important factor influencing motor movement. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, ChiCTR2100050415. What is Known: • The state of mental health in early childhood influences the development of their future personality and physical development. The prognosis and management of glaucoma may seriously impair the mental health development of the affected children. However, the exploration of psychological aspects and motor movement of childhood glaucoma was limited. What is New: • Children with glaucoma have impaired motor skills and self-perception development, especially in terms of peer socialization.