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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Investigating Motor Skill Learning Processes with a Robotic Manipulandum
Published on: February 12, 2017
Gender differences in motor skill proficiency from childhood to adolescence: a longitudinal study
Lisa M Barnett1, Eric van Beurden, Philip J Morgan
1Faculty of Health Medicine Nursing and Behavioral Sciences at Deakin University, School of Health and Social Development, Victoria, Australia. lisa.barnett@deakin.edu.au
Abstract:
Students' proficiency in three object control and three locomotor skills were assessed in 2000 (M age = 10.06 years, SD = 0.63) in New South Wales, Australia and in 2006-07 (M age = 16.44 years, SD = 0.64). In 2006-07, 266 students, 138 girls (51.9%) and 128 boys (48.1%), had at least one skill reassessed. Boys were more object control proficient than girls. Childhood object control proficiency significantly predicted (p = .001) adolescent object control proficiency (r2 = .39), and, while gender was significant (p = .001), it did not affect the relationship between these variables (p = .53). Because childhood object control proficiency is predictive of subsequent object control proficiency, developing skills in childhood is important.
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