Biosocial determinants associated with high gross motor competence in preschool children

Abstract

All healthy children have a potential for developing and learning gross motor skills during early childhood. Nevertheless, research shows that children may have different developmental pathways to achieve their own level of motor competence [1] . The causes for this variability are not yet sufficiently clarified in the literature, particularly under a multidimensional understanding of motor development [2] , [3] . Therefore, the purpose of this study was designed to identify the biosocial determinants associated with high gross motor competence. The sample included 366 children (171 boys and 195 girls) aged from 36 to 71 months of age ( M = 52.99 ± 9.6). The gross motor competence was assessed using the PDMS-2. Biosocial variables related to the child's characteristics, the family and preschool environments were explored. For each sex, a multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to find out the biosocial determinants associated with high motor competence. The findings of the multivariate analysis showed that boys who have 1 hour or more of structured physical activity per week outside school (OR = 3.01; CI = 1.17; 7.74), more than 1 hour (two times) of physical education per week (OR = 2.75; CI = 1.07; 7.05), and a high height-for-age (OR = 1.57; CI = 1.01; 2.43), were more likely to have high motor competence. In turn, girls with more than five gross motor toys (OR = 2.65; CI = 1.05; 6.68), younger than most of the classmates (OR = 2.44; CI = 1.08; 5.23), and belonging to a school with more than four fixed outdoor play equipment (OR = 2.56; 1.16; 5.65) were more likely to have high motor competence. The high gross motor competence of preschool children was mainly explained by social and environmental factors such as the participation on structured physical activities, the gross motor toys/equipment available for play. The findings also highlight the social effect of school peers on gross motor competence.