The Impact of Gross Motor Skills on the Development of Emotion Understanding in Children Aged 3–6 Years: The Mediation Role of Executive Functions

Qiaoling Li, Qinglin Wang, Zhaoyang Xin and Huang Gu ()
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Qiaoling Li: School of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Qinglin Wang: School of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Zhaoyang Xin: School of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Huang Gu: School of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-10

Abstract: This study investigates the impact of gross motor skills on the development of emotion understanding and the role of executive function in the relation between gross motor skills and emotion understanding. A total of 662 children were tested for gross motor skills, emotion understanding, and executive function. Regression analysis showed that gross motor skills were significantly related to executive function. Multiple regression analyses showed that gross motor skills and executive function were significant predictors for emotion understanding. Furthermore, mediation analysis showed that executive function mediated the impact of gross motor skills on emotion understanding. Gross motor skills contributed to emotion understanding by improving children’s executive function. The findings imply that a pathway from gross motor skills to emotion understanding is mediated by executive function, which offers a novel perspective on the developmental mechanisms of children’s emotion understanding.

Keywords: gross motor skills; executive functions; emotion understanding; mediating effect; children aged 3–6 years (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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