Motor Skills and Participation in Middle Childhood: A Direct Path for Boys, a Mediated Path for Girls.

BACKGROUND: Beyond the often examined perceptions of competence and motor skill proficiency, perceived value and children's expectations for success are thought to affect engagement in physical activities. We used parallel mediation models to examine the direct effect of motor skill proficiency on participation in physical activities, as well as whether children's beliefs and value for physical activities mediated this relationship. METHODS: The participants in this cross-sectional study were a total of 398 grade 3 children (201 girls) from 8 schools. Motor skills were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2, the Value Expectancy Questionnaire measured the psychological variables, and the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment measured physical activities. RESULTS: Motor skill proficiency predicted all 3 psychological constructs for the boys and the girls, and boys' participation in physical activities. However, the psychological variables did not mediate the relationship between motor skills and participation among the boys. For the girls, task value mediated the relationship between motor skills and physical activity participation. CONCLUSION: It is possible that the girls are further along in their ability to reflect on their competence, successes, and failures; it is also possible that the lower motor skill levels of girls had a deleterious effect on their feelings about participating.

The Relationship between Fundamental Motor Skill Proficiency and Participation in Organized Sports and Active Recreation in Middle Childhood.

Motor skill proficiency in middle childhood is associated with higher physical activity levels at that age and is predictive of adolescent physical activity levels. Much of the previous research in this area has used accelerometry in determining these relationships, and as a result, little is known about what physical activities the children are engaging in. Therefore the aim of this study was to examine rates of participation in physical activities, the relationships between motor proficiency and how often children participate, and if there were gender-based differences in participation, motor skills, or the relationship between these variables. Participants were 400 boys and girls (Mean age = 9 years 6 months) in grade 4. Motor skills were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2) and physical activity participation was measured using the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE). Descriptive statistics, chi-squared analyses, and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to examine activity patterns and whether these patterns differed by gender. Correlation coefficients were used to estimate the relationships between fundamental motor skill proficiency and participation. The boys and girls participated in many of the same activities, but girls were more likely to participate in most of the informal physical activities. More boys than girls participated in team sports, boys participated more frequently in team sports, and the boys' object control and locomotor skill proficiency were significantly associated with participation in team sports. There were some significant associations between motor skills and participation in specific activities; however it is not clear if participation is developing skillfulness or those who are more skilled are engaging and persisting with particular activities.