Is the Level of Motor Development at School Entry Related to the Use of Municipal Exercise Programs? A Social-Differential Analysis

Daniel M. Faßbender, Katharina Kreffter, Simon Götz, Maurus Hagemeister, Stefanie Lisak-Wahl, Thuy Ha Nguyen, Theodor Stemper and Simone Weyers
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Daniel M. Faßbender: Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Centre for Health and Society, Institute of Medical Sociology, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Katharina Kreffter: Hamm-Lippstadt, University of Applied Sciences, Marker Allee 76-78, 59063 Hamm, Germany
Simon Götz: Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Centre for Health and Society, Institute of Medical Sociology, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Maurus Hagemeister: Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Centre for Health and Society, Institute of Medical Sociology, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Stefanie Lisak-Wahl: Academy of Public Health Services, Kanzlerstrasse 4, 40472 Duesseldorf, Germany
Thuy Ha Nguyen: IGES Institute, Friedrichstrasse 180, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Theodor Stemper: School of Human and Social Sciences, University of Wuppertal, Sport Science, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany
Simone Weyers: Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Centre for Health and Society, Institute of Medical Sociology, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-11

Abstract: Children’s motor development is socially unevenly distributed despite many municipal exercise programs (EXP). It has not been sufficiently investigated whether and how they appeal to children from different social backgrounds. This study investigates the use of municipal EXP in preschool age and the association between participation and motor development considering social circumstances. In school entry health examinations, parents were asked about participating in various EXP (response = 65.5%; n = 6480). Motor development, i.e., body coordination and visual-motor coordination, were assessed by a social pediatric development screening, and social circumstances by migration background (MB) and parental education (PE). Poisson regression estimated adjusted Incidence Rate Ratios (IRR; 95% confidence interval, 95%—CI) for relationships between social circumstances and participation in programs and participation and body coordination/visual-motor coordination. Children with MB (IRR 0.73; 95%—CI 0.71–0.75) and low PE (IRR 0.45; 95%—CI 0.40–0.50) used EXP less often. Children participating less often have a finding in body- (IRR 0.76; 95%-CI 0.63–0.90) and visual-motor coordination (IRR 0.47; 95%—CI 0.35–0.62). Significant effects were found for children with and without MB and higher PE. Municipalities should make EXP more attractive for families with MB and low PE.

Keywords: promoting physical activity; motor skills; physical benefits; prevention; municipal exercise programs; social inequality; school entry health examination; preschool children (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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