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Longitudinal associations between structured teaching and attentional functioning in youth badminton: evidence from
Han Zhou1, Dong Liu2, Yu Zhang3
1School of Physical Education and Sports Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, China.
Background:
Structured teaching methods are widely used to promote attention in youth sports training. However, it is not clear whether this positive association is the same for all students or depends on the level of baseline attention. Traditional average effect analysis may mask important heterogeneity.
Methods:
A total of 433 young badminton players aged 12 to 16 years were followed up four times in this longitudinal study, and a total of 1,732 person-wave observations were obtained. Structured teaching intensity and attention scores were assessed at the time of each measurement. Time-dependent covariates included age, length of training per week, and fatigue. Linear fixed effects models were used to estimate the mean association, and fixed effects quantile regression was used to examine the association heterogeneity of attention on the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th conditional quantiles.
Results:
Linear fixed effects models showed a modest positive mean association between perceived structured instruction and attention (β = 0.219, p < 0.001). But quantile regression showed significant heterogeneity: on the 10th quantile, the association was small and not significant (β = 0.082, p = 0.221); on the 90th quantile, the association was large and significant (β = 0.506, p < 0.001). The Wald test confirmed a significant difference between the 10th and 90th quantiles (χ2(1) = 22.47, p < 0.001). Non-linear analysis with restricted cubic splines indicated a visually suggestive but statistically unproven non-linear pattern among inattentive students.
Conclusions:
The within-person association between perceived structured instruction and attentional function differed significantly in the conditional distribution of attention. The positive correlation was significantly stronger in the upper conditional quantile of attentional function and weaker in the lower conditional quantile. This pattern of differences suggests that uniform instructional strategies may risk reinforcing attentional differences. Coaches and educators should consider interventions that are adaptable and matched to individual doses. Given the observational longitudinal design, no causal conclusions can be drawn; the results reflect intra-individual associations.
