Competency in Object Control Skills at an Early Age Benefit Future Movement Application: Longitudinal Data from the NW-CHILD Study

Anita E. Pienaar, Carli Gericke and Wilmarié du Plessis
Additional contact information
Anita E. Pienaar: PhASReC, School of Human Movement Sciences, North West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Carli Gericke: PhASReC, School of Human Movement Sciences, North West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Wilmarié du Plessis: PhASReC, School of Human Movement Sciences, North West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: The level of competency in object control skills (OCSs) during early childhood is considered to be a possible determinant of the successful generalization of these skills during later childhood. This study aimed to determine if an association exists between competency in object control skills during early childhood (6–9 years) and the application of these skills during later childhood (12 years). The NW-CHILD longitudinal study (2010–2016), included a baseline and two time-point follow-up measures in grades 1, 4, and 7 of South African children. A total of 374 participants (boys = 178, 47.59% and girls = 196, 52.41%) completed testing at all three time-points and were analyzed. The Test of Gross Motor Development, Second Edition, and the Canadian Agility and Movement Skill Assessment were used to determine associations between object control skill competency during early and later childhood by using descriptive statistics, Spearman rank order correlations, and stepwise regression analysis. The level of object control skill competency at 6 and 9 years, significantly influences the application of these skills at 12 years. A high overall and significant contribution of OCS (4.6%, p < 0.01) to the variance in the skills and time scores at 12 years; p < 0.05 were found. Competence in object control skills at an early age can provide a baseline from where opportunities for progression or transfer of skills can result in more advanced skillful executions which consequently can be considered to be a cornerstone of improved future physical activity and healthier lifestyles.

Keywords: motor competence; fundamental motor skills; object control skills; early childhood; later childhood; health; active lifestyles (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1648/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1648/ (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:18:y:2021:i:4:p:1648-:d:496276

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 ().