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Gender differences in fundamental motor skill development in disadvantaged preschoolers from two geographical regions

Jacqueline D Goodway1, Leah E Robinson, Heather Crowe

  • 1School of Physical Activity and Educational Services, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. goodway.1@osu.edu

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
|April 15, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Disadvantaged preschoolers show developmental delays in object control and locomotor skills. Boys generally outperformed girls in object control, while midwestern children demonstrated superior locomotor skills compared to southwestern peers.

Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Motor Skill Acquisition
  • Developmental Pediatrics

Background:

  • Disadvantaged preschool children often exhibit delays in fundamental motor skills.
  • Understanding regional and gender influences is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of gender and geographic region on object control and locomotor skill development in disadvantaged preschoolers.
  • To identify specific developmental delays in these skill domains.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2) for skill assessment.
  • Employed 2x2 Gender x Region analyses of variance (ANOVA) on percentile ranks.
  • Sample included 275 midwestern African American and 194 southwestern Hispanic preschoolers.

Main Results:

  • Both midwestern and southwestern preschoolers were developmentally delayed in locomotor and object control skills (below 30th percentile).
  • Significant gender differences were found for object control skills (p < .0001), with boys outperforming girls across regions.
  • A significant Gender x Region interaction (p = .02) was observed for object control skills.
  • Significant regional differences were found for locomotor skills (p < .001), with midwestern preschoolers demonstrating better performance.

Conclusions:

  • Disadvantaged preschoolers across both regions exhibit significant delays in fundamental motor skills.
  • Gender plays a role in object control development, with boys showing an advantage.
  • Regional disparities exist, with midwestern children exhibiting more developed locomotor skills.

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