Cutting It Too Fine? The Factor Structure of Fine Motor Skills From Ages 5 to 10 Years

Fine motor skills (FMS) have been intensely studied in developmental contexts, with little attention to their empirical structure and developmental changes. We tested the factor structure of FMS on 5- to 10 year old children in two cohorts from 2020 to 2023, beginning in kindergarten and grade 2 and followed up 1 year later (n = 240 and 310, 49.7% female, 74.2% German). Measures assessed dexterity, graphomotor skills, and speed FMS. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted on randomly split-half samples in kindergarten and grade 2, followed by confirmatory factor analyses on the second of the split-half samples and the entire cohorts in grades 1 and 3. Findings generally suggest a three-factor solution (CFIs > 0.95), with indications of gender effects and developmental changes in structure.