Motor coordination and psychosocial correlates in a normative adolescent sample

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• Motor coordination difficulties are linked to internalizing problems like anxiety and depression.
• Understanding mediating factors in this relationship is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if self-perceptions mediate the association between motor coordination and emotional functioning in adolescents.
• To explore the role of self-perceived competence in the motor coordination-emotional health link.

Main Methods:

• A sample of 93 adolescents (aged 12-16) participated.
• Measures included the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (motor coordination), Mood and Feelings Questionnaire and Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (emotional functioning), and Self-Description Questionnaire-II (self-perceptions).
• Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data.

Main Results:

• Structural equation modeling confirmed that motor coordination influences emotional functioning indirectly through self-perceptions.
• Self-perceptions were identified as a significant mediating factor.

Conclusions:

• The relationship between adolescent motor coordination and emotional functioning is explained by self-perception domains.
• Findings underscore the importance of addressing both motor coordination and self-perceptions in interventions for emotional difficulties in adolescents.