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Postural Stability, Rather than Strength-Coordination, Is Associated with Executive Functions in Preschool Children:
Andrés Godoy-Cumillaf1, Josivaldo de Souza-Lima2, Frano Giakoni-Ramírez2
1Grupo de Investigación en Educación Física, Salud y Calidad de Vida (EFISAL), Facultad de Educación, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Temuco 4780000, Chile.
Background/Objectives:
Executive functions and motor performance develop rapidly during early childhood and may be closely interconnected. However, it remains unclear whether specific motor domains are more strongly associated with executive functioning than others. This study examined the relationships among executive functions, motor performance, physical activity, and waist circumference in preschool children using structural equation modeling (SEM).
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted in 364 preschool children aged 4-7 years from Temuco, Chile. Executive functions were assessed using the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI). Motor performance included postural stability and strength-coordination indicators derived from the PREFIT battery and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2. Physical activity was assessed using the Krece Plus questionnaire. SEM was used to examine direct and indirect statistical associations among variables while adjusting for age and sex.
Results:
The final SEM showed acceptable fit to the data (CFI = 0.915; TLI = 0.882; RMSEA = 0.054). Postural stability was significantly associated with executive functions (β = -0.268, p = 0.016), whereas strength-coordination was not. Physical activity positively predicted postural stability (β = 0.099, p = 0.024), while waist circumference negatively predicted postural stability (β = -0.095, p = 0.032). An indirect statistical association between waist circumference and executive functions through postural stability was observed. The model explained 9.6% of the variance in executive functions.
Conclusions:
In preschool children, executive functioning appeared to be more closely associated with postural stability than with broader strength-coordination performance. Although the observed associations were modest in magnitude, the findings suggest that balance-related motor processes may be relevant for understanding motor-executive function associations during early childhood. Longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to clarify the nature and direction of these associations.
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