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There is some, albeit inconsistent, evidence supporting sex differences in preschoolers' motor competence (MC), with these observations not uniform when analyzed by age, and cultural groups. Thus, this study examined sex differences across ages in 3- to 5-year-old children's MC. A cross-country pooled sample of 6241 children aged 3-5 years (49.6% girls) was assessed for MC using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2nd/3rd edition, and children were categorized into groups of age in months. Multiple linear regression models and predictive margins were calculated to explore how sex and age in months affect scores of MC (i.e., locomotor and ball skills), with adjustments for country and BMI. The Chow's Test was used to test for the presence of a structural break in the data. Significant differences in favor of girls were seen at 57-59 and 66-68 months of age for locomotor skills; boys performed better in ball skills in all age periods, except for 42-44 and 45-47 months of age. The higher marginal effects were observed for the period between 45-47 and 48-50 months for locomotor skills (F = 30.21; and F = 25.90 for girls and boys, respectively), and ball skills (F = 19.01; and F = 42.11 for girls and boys, respectively). A significantly positive break point was seen at 45-47 months, highlighting the age interval where children's MC drastically improved. The identification of this breakpoint provides an evidence-based metric for when we might expect MC to rapidly increase, and an indicator of early delay when change does not occur at that age., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The aim of this study was (1) to examine the long-term effectiveness of the "Multimove for Kids" program, a 30-week fundamental motor skill intervention (approximately 1 hour per week) for typically developing children between 3 and 8 years, and (2) to determine the influence of participation in organized sports on motor competence (MC) six years after the intervention. Of the 992 children who took part in the "Multimove" program, 399 (intervention group: N = 228, control group: N = 171) were tested again at 6-year follow-up. MC was measured with the Test of Gross Motor Development, 2nd Edition. To examine the long-term impact of "Multimove" on MC, and the effect of participation in organized sports a latent growth curve analysis was conducted. After the 30-week intervention, the intervention group outperformed the control group (β = 5.57, P < .001). However, when the entire study period, including the 6-year follow-up, was considered, the intervention group made less progress in MC than the control group (β = -0.41, P < .05). Looking at the engagement in organized sports, it was found that years of experience before the intervention had no significant influence on the evolution of MC over time, whereas a positive effect was observed for children's average sports participation (h/week) during the 6-year retention period (β = 0.14, P < .001). Finally, children practicing predominantly object control-oriented sports during retention obtained slightly better MC scores at follow-up (β = 0.01, P < .01). The "Multimove" intervention does not have a long-term effect on the development of MC. However, participation in organized sports has a positive influence on MC evolution over time., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The present study aimed to examine differences in motor competence (MC) in children aged 6-9 years old in northern, central, and southern European regions using the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK). The secondary aim of the study was to examine interactions between region and children's age, sex, and weight status (determined as healthy weight or overweight/obese). Data were pooled from independent studies conducted in Finland (mean age 7.81 ± 1.19 years, n = 690), Belgium (mean age 8.25 ± 1.09 years, n = 1896), and Portugal (mean age 8.31 ± 1.02 years, n = 758) between 2008 and 2016. Cross-cultural differences in MC and interaction effects were tested using ANOVAs and ANCOVAs. Age, sex, and BMI percentile were used as covariates. Geographical region significantly explained 19% of the variance in MC, while BMI (5%), sex (3%), and age (0.3%) were significant covariates. The interaction effect of region and age (5%), region and sex (0.6%), and region and BMI (0.2%) on MC was also significant. Cross-cultural differences in children's MC increased substantially across age, independent of weight status. Girls slightly underperformed in MC compared to boys in regions where the overall level of MC was lower. Interestingly, the association between body weight status and MC was relatively consistent across the regions. Future cross-cultural studies should further explore the influence of individual (eg, physical activity) and environmental (eg, physical activity and sport policy) factors on MC development., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Purpose: Motor assessments generally produce a single motor competence score based on the general motor ability hypothesis, which states that motor competence is a one-dimensional trait underlying a wide range of motor skills. Yet, it is unclear whether the general motor ability hypothesis holds true in middle childhood, which is marked by an increased participation in sports and other types of physical activity. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the structure of motor competence in middle childhood using a test battery with a large item set., Method: A cross-sectional design was used to collect motor competence data of 2538 children aged 6-11 years. Participants completed the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2nd Edition Short Form (BOT-2 SF), which consists of 14 skill items and covers different motor domains. In accordance with the BOT-2 SF manual, point scores were computed for each item. Polytomous Rasch analyses (ie, general partial credit model) were carried out to investigate the construct of motor competence., Results: Rasch analyses revealed different items with unordered threshold parameters, due to ceiling effects. However, after empirically rescaling the category width for each item, follow-up analyses revealed a one-dimensional structure with 12 items., Conclusion: The study provides some evidence of a one-dimensional construct (ie, motor competence) underlying motor assessment in middle childhood. Continued efforts should be made to ensure that valid composite scores are used in motor assessment and to better understand the development of motor competence across childhood and into adolescence and adulthood., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)