Search

The general motor ability hypothesis states that various motor abilities – or general traits that underlie the execution of different motor skills – are correlated and form a single or general motor ability (Brace, 1927; Burton & Miller, 1998). The existence of a general motor ability has long been debated and is still ongoing. There is some evidence supporting this hypothesis in early childhood (Utesch et al., 2016). However, there is also some evidence of an increased specificity of motor ability over time (Burton & Rodgerson, 2001; Schulz, Henderson, Sugden, & Barnett, 2011). This would signify that the associations between motor skill measures decreases with age (Burton & Rodgerson, 2001). So far, evidence has been generated using results from individual studies, which can have methodological issues such as lack of precision (only few or specific motor skill assessments within a single study) and small sample size (Maxwell, Kelley, & Rausch, 2008). A meta-analysis could provide a possible solution to these limitations noted in single studies (Maxwell et al., 2008), and provide a better understanding on general motor ability and possible changes over time. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to conduct a meta-analysis of the intercorrelations between motor skill measures. Since motor skill measures are generally product-oriented or process-oriented, the meta-analysis will include both and examine differences.

This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of perceived motor competence in the relationship between motor competence and physical activity in children as hypothesized by Stodden and colleagues (2008) in their conceptual model of motor competence. A total of 207 children aged 8-13 years (58.9% girls) took part in the study. Actual and perceived motor competence (i.e., overall competence, and competence in locomotor and object control skills) were measured using the Test of Gross Motor Development, 3rd Edition, and the Perceived Motor Competence questionnaire in Childhood, respectively. Physical activity was assessed using a self-report questionnaire. Mediation analyses revealed that the relationship between actual motor competence and physical activity was mediated by perceived motor competence. Specifically, a significant indirect effect of actual competence on physical activity through perceived competence was observed for overall competence (β = 0.168) and object control skills (β = 0.178). The present study provides evidence towards mechanisms underlying the relationship between motor competence and physical activity as postulated by Stodden et al. (2008). Moreover, findings indicate that perceived motor competence is important for physical activity promotion during childhood. As such, fostering perceived motor competence should be considered a key outcome in physical education and youth sport programs.

Objectives: Perceived motor competence is an important part of the physical self-concept. Whilst there are various questionnaires measuring physical self-concept and its sub-components in children and adolescents, few have focused on assessing self-perception of motor skills. To this end, the Perceived Motor Competence Questionnaire in Childhood (PMC-C; Dreiskaemper, Utesch & Tietjens, 2018) was developed to measure children{\textquoteright}s perception of different locomotor and object control skills; the instrument has been validated in German. The present study aimed to investigate the construct validity of the English version of the questionnaire.Methods: A total of 324 children aged 8-12 years (M = 10.17, SD = 1.16) from Scotland (UK) took part in the study and completed the 24-item questionnaire, which uses a 4-point Likert scale. The PMC-C covers 4 locomotor skills (hop, jump run, and skip) and 4 object control skills (bounce, catch, kick, and throw) with 3 items per skill. Internal consistency was examined using polychoric alphas or omegas. The latent structure of the original PMC-C was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).Results: The results showed good internal consistency for locomotor skills (.78 – .88) and object control skills (.73 – .89), and ordered thresholds for all items. Furthermore, the CFA revealed a good model fit for the assumed structure of the original PMC-C (χ2(243) = 501.1, p < .001, TLI = .985, CFI = .987, RMSEA = .061).Conclusion: The study provides evidence for the construct validity of the English version of the PMC-C. This questionnaire is thus considered an appropriate tool to assess children{\textquoteright}s self-perception of motor skills.

Childhood obesity is a major public health issue, which is reflected in the high number of interventions which have been developed to target the behaviors which cause obesity in childhood such as a lack of physical activity, poor diet, and sedentary behavior. The ToyBox programme was originally developed and tested in mainland Europe, and has now been adapted for use in Scottish preschools. This case describes the systematic approach that was taken to adapt the ToyBox programme. The intervention mapping protocol was used to guide the adaptation process in the absence of guidelines for adapting existing interventions. A Co-creation approach was used to involve stakeholders in intervention adaptation procedures. Preschool practitioners participated in workshops, where proposed intervention components were discussed and agreed upon. Proposed intervention activities were trialed out in a volunteer preschool, and an experienced preschool practitioner assisted in the adaptation of classroom materials, intervention content, and methods of delivery in order align the intervention with Scottish preschool practice. The adaptations resulted in the ToyBox-Scotland intervention being significantly different from the original European programme, whereby two major components of the original intervention were removed, and substantial adaptations were made to the delivery and content of the remaining components. Involving stakeholders in the adaptation of an existing intervention is important to ensure the programme is suitable for those who will be delivering and receiving it. However, it is currently unclear as to how much adaptation should be undertaken, highlighting the need for the creation of evidence-based guidelines for intervention adapters.

Objective: The ToyBox intervention was successful at increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour in pre-school children across Europe. The intervention involves teacher-led activities over 18 weeks which aim to increase physical activity, reduce sedentary behaviour, and promote healthy snacking and water consumption. We adapted the Toybox Europe intervention for preschools in Scotland using a co-production approach. This study aimed to test the feasibility of our adapted intervention in children attending preschools in relatively deprived areas of Glasgow, Scotland, who are considered hard to reach. Methods: The feasibility cRCT involved six preschools (three intervention, three control); control was usual curriculum. Participants were 3-5 year old children attending preschools in Glasgow, UK, and their parents. Outcomes of interest were recruitment rates, willingness to be randomised, attrition rates, questionnaire completion rate and acceptability of measurement methods. Measurements were taken at baseline and 18 weeks; anthropometry, physical activity, sleep and sedentary time using the activPal accelerometer (wear time = 7 days; 3 days considered valid), body composition via bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and measures of diet and home screen time via parental questionnaire. Results: Cluster level recruitment rate was 9% (11/112 preschools) and the individual level recruitment rate was 18% (42/231 children). 36 children (16 girls) provided at least one valid measurement at baseline and follow-up (attrition rate = 16.6%). All clusters were willing to be randomised. Anthropometric measures were acceptable and feasible. Parental questionnaire response rates were low (20%). 61% of the sample provided valid accelerometer data at baseline, 27% for baseline and followup. BIA was not feasible due to poor participant compliance with protocol. Conclusions: Recruitment rates of both preschools and children was lower than anticipated compared with Toybox Europe. However, for those children who took part, the adapted intervention and the measurement methods appeared acceptable and feasible. An ongoing process evaluation will help identify ways in which recruitment of preschools, and recruitment and retention of participants, can be maximised in areas of deprivation.

Introduction: The ToyBox-Scotland intervention is an 18-week practitioner-led programme that aims to increase physical activity, reduce sedentary behaviour, and promote healthy snacking and water consumption. We adapted the original Toybox intervention (Manios et al. 2012) using a co-production approach for implementation in Scottish preschools. Examining the feasibility and acceptability of effective public health interventions is critical to ensure success can be translated from one context to another. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of implementing the adapted ToyBox intervention in Scottish preschools. Methods: A feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted involving six preschools in Glasgow, randomly assigned to the intervention or usual-care control group. Participants were 3-5 year old children and their parents. Of interest for this feasibility study were parameters such as recruitment and retention rates, and SDs of outcome measures to inform a full scale trial (namely physical activity, sleep and sedentary time via accelerometry, body composition via bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and measures of diet and home screen time via parental questionnaire). Process evaluation involved focus groups with practitioners, interviews with participating parents and pre/post practitioner logbooks and parental questionnaires. Results: The overall trial recruitment rate was 18%. 36 children (16 girls) provided at least one valid measurement at baseline and follow-up (attrition rate = 16.6%). Anthropometric measures were acceptable and feasible. Parental questionnaire response rates were low (20%). 61% and 27% of participants provided valid accelerometer data for baseline only, and for baseline and follow-up respectively. A process evaluation has recently been conducted and results will be presented at the congress. Conclusion: Overall, the intervention was feasible and acceptable in Scottish preschools. Process evaluation results will help identify ways in which recruitment of preschools, and recruitment and retention of trial participants-particularly regarding accelerometry compliance, can be maximised in Scottish preschools. Such information will be useful for the development of a future full-scale trial.

Introduction: Childhood obesity rates in Scotland are amongst the highest in Europe, with a reported 23% of 4-5 year olds being overweight or obese in 2016/2017. Interventions which have been effective at improving key obesogenic behaviours in the early years may merit further implementation in Scotland. Therefore, adaptations were made to the ToyBox intervention in order to test its{\textquoteright} feasibility in the Scottish preschool setting.Methods: The ToyBox-Scotland study is a feasibility cluster randomized controlled trial, which compared the adapted ToyBox-Scotland intervention (3 preschools) with the usual Scottish preschool curriculum (3 preschools) in Glasgow over an 18 week period from March-June 2018. A number of adaptations to the structure, content and delivery of the original intervention were made to align with the policies and practices of preschools in Scotland. A process evaluation was conducted alongside the cRCT in order to evaluate fidelity and acceptability of the intervention. This presentation will only focus on the adaptation process undertaken, and the implementation challenges identified through process evaluation.Results: We involved stakeholders in the adaptation and development of the ToyBox-Scotland intervention. Meetings were held with preschool head teachers. A workshop was conducted with pre-school practitioners, and an experienced pre-school educator trailed out each ToyBox activity with children and collaborated with researchers adapt the intervention. Resulting adaptations to the intervention included: Language changes to the intervention materials, removal of the eating/snacking and water consumption components from the pre-school setting, removal or adaptation of more complex physical activity sessions, and the addition of interactive rather than passive materials to encourage parental involvement. Process evaluation concluded that the intervention was implemented with high fidelity in the preschool setting and was well-received by practitioners. Challenges identified included low study recruitment rates, loss of accelerometers, and poor compliance with outcome measures (BIA, parental questionnaires and accelerometry).Conclusion: The original ToyBox intervention was considerably adapted to suit the context-specific aspects of Scottish preschools, which appears to have aided successful implementation of the intervention. The challenges identified will be considered and addressed before progression to effectiveness testing of the intervention.

Introduction: The 2018 Report Card provides a 'state of the nation' assessment of the physical activity (PA) and health of children and adolescents in Scotland, focusing on obesity prevalence. Methods: We graded eleven PA and health indicators based on data which were: recent, derived from nationally representative surveys, affected by minimal bias, and determined by the % of children and adolescents meeting an evidence-based recommendation, ranging from A+ (94%-100%) to F (

Background/Purpose: The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends that children participate daily in 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). A threshold of >4.0 METs (metabolic equivalent of task) is considered MVPA in children. Physical education classes are ideal settings for the promotion of MVPA through the practice of continuous (walking, running) and discrete (kicking, throwing, striking) skills. Recent research in adults has determined the energy expenditure of discrete skill practice to be high while participants’ rate of perceived exertion (RPE) was low. The replication of this phenomenon in children would provide evidence for the inclusion of discrete skill practice in curricula aiming to promote MVPA. Thus, this study examined energy expenditure (METs), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and level of fun during object projection skill performance (kicking, throwing, and striking) at three different practice intervals in children. Method: Children (N = 42, Mage = 8.1 ± 0.8 years) participated in three nine-minute experimental sessions where participants performed rounds of 5 kicks, 5 throws, and 5 strikes in blocked fashion, at three practice intervals (i.e., 30, 12, and 6 seconds). Each participant completed the three sessions in a randomized order. Participants were instructed to perform all trials with maximum effort and to report their RPE (1 “Not tired at all” – 10 “So tired, I can’t go anymore”) and level of fun (1 “Not fun at all” – 10 “The most fun I’ve ever had”) using 10-point scales. The average energy expenditure (METs) during minutes 4-8 of each nine-minute session were calculated using a COSMED K4b2 gas analyzer. Analysis/Results: Three one-way repeated measures ANOVAs for METs, RPE, and fun were conducted to examine differences across groups and sex. Data indicated a main effect for interval condition (F = 94.36, p < .001, η2 = 0.605) with decreased interval times between performance trials yielding significantly higher METs across conditions (4.5 ± 0.8, 6.3 ± 1.3, 8.3 ± 1.6 at 30-, 12-, 6-sec interval respectively). There also was a main effect for sex (F = 52.28, p < .001, η2 = 0.305), with boys demonstrating higher METs at each performance trial interval. RPE and fun analyses determined a main effect for each interval (RPE; F = 91.16, p < .001, fun; F = 96.61, p