Age and Sex Differences in the State and Relationships between Process and Product Assessments of Fundamental-Motor Skills in Five to Eight-Year-Olds: The ExAMIN Youth SA Study

Anita E Pienaar; Makama A Monyeki; Dané Coetzee; Barry Gerber; Wilmarié du Plessis; Aletta M du Plessis; Ruan Kruger

doi:10.3390/ijerph19159565

Age and Sex Differences in the State and Relationships between Process and Product Assessments of Fundamental-Motor Skills in Five to Eight-Year-Olds: The ExAMIN Youth SA Study

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 3;19(15):9565. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159565.

Authors

Anita E Pienaar¹, Makama A Monyeki¹, Dané Coetzee¹, Barry Gerber¹, Wilmarié du Plessis¹, Aletta M du Plessis¹, Ruan Kruger^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation (PhASRec), Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2531, South Africa.
² Hypertension in Africa Research Team (HART), North-West University, Potchefstroom 2531, South Africa.
³ MRC Research Unit for Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2531, South Africa.

Abstract

Adequate development of Fundamental Motor Skills (FMS) at a young age benefit holistic development and positive health outcomes. This study determined age and sex developmental differences in the state and the relationships between process and product assessments of four fundamental-motor skills (FMS) in five to eight-year-olds. An availability sample of 636 children; 291 boys, 345 girls, mean age of 6.8 ± 0.97 years in the North West Province of South Africa participated in the study. Spearman rank order correlations analyzed relationships between assessments, while sex and age differences were examined using independent t-testing and one-way ANOVA. Age showed significant developmental trajectories in all FMS. Older children were found to be more at risk for not learning FMS to mastery, while unique developmental patterns were also established compared to international trends. Strong to moderate significant practical associations (p < 0.05) emerged between process and product assessments in catching (r = 0.79), jumping (r = 0.40) running (r = −0.33) and kicking (r = 0.20), while also confirming that the strength of the associations varies depending upon the skill type. Associations strengthened with increasing age, were higher in girls in all FMS, while associations between behavioral criteria in all FMS also differed between FMS and sexes. These strong associations, need to be taken into consideration during the development of FMS towards obtaining full mastery.

Keywords: age; fundamental motor skills; health; locomotor skills; object control skills; physical education; process; product; sex.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
Child, Preschool
Exercise
Female
Humans
Male
Men
Motor Skills*
Running*
Sex Characteristics

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the South African Medical Research Council under a Self-Initiated Research Grant, and the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa (Unique Identification Number: 86895), as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency for financial support (TC project SAF6020). Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and therefore the NRF, MRC does not accept any liability in regard thereto.