Self-perceived and actual indicators of motor abilities in children and adolescents

The aim of the study was to estimate the correlations between self-perceived and actual indicators of fitness in children and adolescents of different age and sex. A total of 525 boys and girls, ages 10 to 17 years (divided into the four age groups) were studied. Self-perceived fitness (fitness, endurance, strength, flexibility, and body composition) was assessed using a slightly modified version of a questionnaire by Delignieres, Marcellini, Brisswalter, and Legros, which was described by Lamb and Haworth. The following EUROFIT tests were used: 20-m endurance shuttle-run, hand-grip dynamometry, and sit-and-reach. Nine skinfolds were summarized as a body-composition parameter. The subjects significantly perceived their endurance, flexibility (except 10- to 11-yr.-olds), and body composition (except 10- to 11-yr.-old boys). Correlations between handgrip dynamometry and perceived strength were not significant.