Individual, Family, and Environmental Correlates of Motor Competence in Young Children: Regression Model Analysis of Data Obtained from Two Motor Tests

Donna Niemistö, Taija Finni, Marja Cantell, Elisa Korhonen and Arja Sääkslahti
Additional contact information
Donna Niemistö: Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
Taija Finni: Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
Marja Cantell: Department of Inclusive and Special Needs Education, University of Groningen, 9712 Groningen, The Netherlands
Elisa Korhonen: Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
Arja Sääkslahti: Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: Physical activity and motor competence (MC) have been considered to be closely related and prevent childhood obesity. The aim of the study was two-fold: to examine MC measured with two different tools in relation to individual, family, and environmental correlates and to investigate gender differences in MC. The Test of Gross Motor Development-Third Edition (TGMD-3) was administered to three- to seven-year-old children ( n = 945), while the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK) was also used for five- to seven-year-old children ( n = 444). The parent questionnaire ( n = 936) included questions about individual (e.g., participation in organized sports), family (e.g., parents’ education level), and environmental (e.g., access to sports facilities) correlates. The children’s temperament was assessed using the Colorado Childhood Temperament Inventory (CCTI) questionnaire. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and linear mixed-effects regression models. The regression models explained 57% and 38% of the variance in TGMD-3 and KTK, respectively. Individual correlates, including older age, more frequent participation in sports, and specific temperament traits of activity and attention span-persistence, were the strongest predictors for better MC. Small gender differences were found in both assessment tools, albeit in a different manner. In conclusion, socioecological correlates of MC in young children are multidimensional, and individual correlates appear to be the most important predictors of MC. Importantly, the correlates can differ according to the MC assessment tools.

Keywords: socioecological model; locomotor skills; ball skills; balance skills; coordination; TGMD-3; KTK; temperament (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/7/2548/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/7/2548/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:7:p:2548-:d:342796

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().