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Practice and proficiency: Factors that facilitate infant walking skill
Christina M Hospodar1, Justine E Hoch1, Do Kyeong Lee2
1Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA.
Developmental Psychobiology
|October 21, 2021
Summary
Infant walking skill improves with practice, but home environment and spontaneous activity also significantly impact development. Less crowded homes and more walking time lead to better skills.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Motor Skill Acquisition
- Infant Locomotion
Background:
- Infant walking skill development is typically measured by time since walk onset.
- Individual differences in walking skill acquisition are influenced by environmental and activity factors.
- Understanding factors beyond time is crucial for a comprehensive view of walking development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of environmental factors and spontaneous activity on infant walking skill.
- To determine the predictive power of months walking, walk onset age, and other variables on walking proficiency.
- To explore how sociodemographic differences affect walking skill development.
Main Methods:
- Examined walking skill in infants aged 13, 15, and 19 months from two distinct sociodemographic samples.
- Assessed the role of months walking, walk onset age, spontaneous locomotor activity, body dimensions, and environmental factors.
- Utilized statistical analysis to identify predictors of walking skill.
Main Results:
- Months walking was the strongest predictor of walking skill.
- Environmental factors and spontaneous activity explained additional variance in walking skill.
- Less crowded homes, higher percentage of spontaneous walking, and fewer short walking bouts correlated with more mature walking.
Conclusions:
- While time since walk onset is a key predictor, environmental context and infant activity levels are significant contributors to walking skill.
- Factors like home crowding and spontaneous walking duration influence the trajectory of motor development.
- These findings highlight the multifaceted nature of infant walking skill acquisition.
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