Understanding the gender gap in physical literacy among peri-adolescent children.

Background: Research has shown that by peri-adolescence (~8 to 14 years), participation in physical activity (PA) declines drastically in girls and this decline is largely maintained throughout adulthood. One of the core domains of physical literacy (PL) -- fundamental movement skills - has been shown to be associated with PA in childhood through to early adulthood: children with proficient movement skills are more likely to participate in PA than are those with poor movement skills. Recent work has demonstrated that there is also a gender gap in PL during the periadolescent/ adolescent period. Methods: A 3-phase, sequential, explanatory mixed-design study to examine (1) the association between PL and PA; (2) why girls have lower PL than boys during the peri-adolescent period; and (3) if we can effect positive change in PL in girls using a gender-enhanced program. Phase 1: PL will be assessed in children aged 8-14 years attending a stratified, random sample of Ontario afterschool programs using the Physical Literacy Assessment for Youth (PLAY) Fun tool developed for children and youth. Phase 2: children will be divided into tertiles based on their PL scores. A random subsample of children stratified by gender and PL score will be selected to participate in a semi-structured interview to understand the contextual factors related to the gender gap in PL and to wear a pedometer to assess their level of PA. Phase 3: Information from the interviews will be used to modify the afterschool programs in order to target the positive development of PL in girls. The 12-week modified program will be tested using a randomized, pre-post test control design of 10 randomly selected afterschool programs. PL and PA will be assessed using PLAYFun and pedometers, respectively. Results: Data collection for Phase 1 is currently underway: testing at 9 of 15 sites has been completed; all site visits are scheduled to be completed by April 2016. Phase 2 interviews and pedometer wear will occur in May-June 2016. Discussion: This study will be among the first to examine potential gender differences in physical literacy from the perspective of child and youth themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]