Sex differences in 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children's motor competence: a pooled cross‐sectional analysis of 6241 children

Martins, C, Webster, EK, Romo‐Perez, V, Duncan, M, Lemos, LF, Staiano, A, Okely, A, Magistro, D ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2554-3701, Carlevaro, F, Bardid, F, Magno, F, Nobre, G, Estevan, I, Mota, J, Ning, K, Robinson, LE, Lenoir, M, Quan, M, Valentini, N, Dehkordi, PS, Cross, P, Jones, R, Henrique, RS, Salami, S, Chen, S, Diao, Y, Bandeira, PR and Barnett, LM, 2024. Sex differences in 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children's motor competence: a pooled cross‐sectional analysis of 6241 children. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 34 (5): e14651. ISSN 0905-7188

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Abstract

There is some, albeit inconsistent, evidence supporting sex differences in preschoolers' motor competence (MC), with these observations not uniform when analyzed by age, and cultural groups. Thus, this study examined sex differences across ages in 3- to 5-year-old children's MC. A cross-country pooled sample of 6241 children aged 3–5 years (49.6% girls) was assessed for MC using the Test of Gross Motor Development—2nd/3rd edition, and children were categorized into groups of age in months. Multiple linear regression models and predictive margins were calculated to explore how sex and age in months affect scores of MC (i.e., locomotor and ball skills), with adjustments for country and BMI. The Chow's Test was used to test for the presence of a structural break in the data. Significant differences in favor of girls were seen at 57–59 and 66–68 months of age for locomotor skills; boys performed better in ball skills in all age periods, except for 42–44 and 45–47 months of age. The higher marginal effects were observed for the period between 45–47 and 48–50 months for locomotor skills (F = 30.21; and F = 25.90 for girls and boys, respectively), and ball skills (F = 19.01; and F = 42.11 for girls and boys, respectively). A significantly positive break point was seen at 45–47 months, highlighting the age interval where children's MC drastically improved. The identification of this breakpoint provides an evidence-based metric for when we might expect MC to rapidly increase, and an indicator of early delay when change does not occur at that age.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
Creators:	Martins, C., Webster, E.K., Romo‐Perez, V., Duncan, M., Lemos, L.F., Staiano, A., Okely, A., Magistro, D., Carlevaro, F., Bardid, F., Magno, F., Nobre, G., Estevan, I., Mota, J., Ning, K., Robinson, L.E., Lenoir, M., Quan, M., Valentini, N., Dehkordi, P.S., Cross, P., Jones, R., Henrique, R.S., Salami, S., Chen, S., Diao, Y., Bandeira, P.R. and Barnett, L.M.
Publisher:	Wiley
Date:	May 2024
Volume:	34
Number:	5
ISSN:	0905-7188
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1111/sms.14651 DOI 1896193 Other
Rights:	This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Martins C, Webster EK, Romo-Perez V, et al. Sex differences in 3- to 5-year-old children's motor competence: A pooled cross-sectional analysis of 6241 children. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2024; 34: e14651, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.14651. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Melissa Cornwell
Date Added:	24 May 2024 08:47
Last Modified:	24 May 2024 08:47
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/51471

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