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Profiling Movement and Gait Quality Characteristics in Pre-School Children
Cain C T Clark1,2,3, Claire M Barnes3,4, Nils J Swindell2,3
1a HE Sport, University Centre Hartpury , United Kingdom.
Journal of Motor Behavior
|October 7, 2017
Summary
This study introduces new ways to measure children's motor skills during free play. Objective movement quality metrics, like spectral purity, are linked to overall motor competence in preschoolers.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric kinesiology
- Movement science
- Child development
Background:
- Objective metrics for quantifying motor competence are lacking.
- Movement quality during free play in preschoolers remains understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize physical activity during free play in preschoolers (3-5 years old).
- To investigate the relationship between gait quality characteristics and free play.
- To identify objective metrics for assessing motor competence in young children.
Main Methods:
- Sixty-one preschoolers (39 boys) participated.
- Movement quality was assessed using accelerometers during free play.
- A clustering algorithm profiled movement quality characteristics.
- Statistical analyses included Spearman's rho and Mann-Whitney U tests.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in spectral purity and integrated acceleration were found between motor competency classifications (p < .001).
- Spectral purity clustered with motor competence and integrated acceleration.
- Positive correlations were observed between spectral purity, integrated acceleration, and motor competence (p < .001).
Conclusions:
- This is the first study to report spectral purity in preschoolers.
- Movement spectral purity is a promising objective metric for assessing motor competence.
- Objective movement quality characteristics can be reliably measured during free play in young children.
