Associations between motor proficiency and motor creativity amongst 5-6-year-old children from deprived areas of North West England

Abstract

Participation in physical activity (PA) is essential for the promotion of physical and mental health outcomes, but children in the UK are not meeting the recommended amounts of PA. Existing literature has linked children’s levels of physical activity to the development of motor competence. Two important components of motor competence are motor proficiency and motor creativity, however limited research has examined their prevalence and relationship in deprived young children. The aim of this study was to examine associations between motor proficiency and motor creativity, as well as to explore gender and age effects on these variables in children aged 5 to 6 years old from areas of high deprivation. This cross-sectional study was realised from the baseline data obtained from a larger project called SAMPLE-PE. A total of 360 children aged 5 to 6 years were recruited, however many children had some missing data and had to be removed from the study. The final sample included 221 children from deprived areas (low SES). The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-3) was used to qualitatively assesses gross motor proficiency in locomotor and ball skills; the test of Stability Skills, was used to measure the stability skill component of motor proficiency. To assess motor creativity the Divergent Movement Ability test (DMA) was used. Associations between motor proficiency and motor creativity were explored using the Pearson’s correlation (bivariate correlations) and the multilevel mixed linear regression. Children’s motor proficiency and motor creativity scores demonstrated a positive but weak relationship. Age was positively related to motor proficiency, indicating that older children demonstrated higher levels of motor proficiency; conversely, age was not associated with total motor creativity. Gender was not associated with total motor proficiency nor total motor creativity. However, gender was associated with all motor proficiency subtests, girls outperformed boys in locomotor and stability skills whereas boys demonstrated higher performance at ball skills. Gender was also associated to motor creativity object control subtest, where boys performed better than girls. The main finding revealed positive but weak associations between motor creativity and motor proficiency. This suggests that these two constructs develop by different means and strategies and are influenced by different biological, psychological and environmental factors. These results suggest that longitudinal research is needed to better understand the nature of the associations between motor creativity and motor proficiency, as well as to understand how motor creativity develops over time and between genders. Future research is needed on the influence of socioeconomic status on the relationship between motor creativity and motor proficiency.