Linda Saraiva

Influence of age, sex and somatic variables on the motor performance of pre-school children

Abstract Background: Biological factors can affect the motor development process of children. However, the magnitude of these effects throughout the developmental process remains fairly unknown. Aim: To determine the influence of age, sex and selected somatic measures on the motor performance of pre-school children. Subjects and methods: Three hundred and sixty-seven pre-schoolers (172 boys and 195 girls), aged from 3–5 years old, were recruited from 10 public pre-schools located in the district of Viana do Castelo, Portugal. The children’s motor performance was assessed by five motor sub-tests of Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2: grasping, visuo-motor integration, stationary, locomotion and object manipulation sub-tests. Age, sex, height, weight and BMI were considered as hypothetical predictors of motor performance. Pearson’s correlation test and multiple linear regression analysis were used to explore the magnitude of the relationship between motor sub-tests and the hypothetical predictors. Results: Depending on the motor sub-test and age group, the models predicted motor performance from a minimum of 3.6% to a maximum of 34.4%. Age in months and sex stood out as the main predictors of motor performance. Conclusions: The relationship between motor performance and selected biological factors varied with age and with the specificity of the motor test.

Motor profile of Portuguese preschool children on the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2: A cross-cultural study

This study was designed to examine the cultural sensitivity of the PDMS-2 for Portuguese preschool children aged 36-71 months. A total of 540 children (255 males and 285 females) from 15 public preschools of Viana do Castelo, Portugal, were assessed. Age and gender effects in motor performance were examined. Results indicated that PDMS-2 is valid instrument to differentiate Portuguese age groups. Girls presented higher scores than boys in the Grasping and Visuo-motor integration subtests and lower scores in the Object Manipulation subtest. Portuguese preschoolers performed above US norms on Grasping, Visual-motor integration, and Stationary subtests, and bellow on Locomotion and Object Manipulation subtests. Overall, Portuguese children showed better results on the Fine Motor Quotient comparing to the Gross Motor Quotient. These results underline different motor development profiles between Portuguese and American children.

Validity and reliability of a pictorial instrument for assessing perceived motor competence in Portuguese children.

BACKGROUND It is important to assess young childrens perceived Fundamental Movement Skill (FMS) competence in order to examine the role of perceived FMS competence in motivation toward physical activity. Childrens perceptions of motor competence may vary according to the culture/country of origin; therefore, it is also important to measure perceptions in different cultural contexts. The purpose was to assess the face validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity of the 12 FMS items in the Pictorial Scale for Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children (PMSC) in a Portuguese sample. METHODS Two hundred one Portuguese children (girls, n = 112), 5 to 10 years of age (7.6 ± 1.4), participated. All children completed the PMSC once. Ordinal alpha assessed internal consistency. A random subsamples (n = 47) were reassessed one week later to determine test-retest reliability with Bland-Altman method. Children were asked questions after the second administration to determine face validity. Construct validity was assessed on the whole sample with a Bayesian Structural Equation Modelling (BSEM) approach. The hypothesized theoretical model used the 12 items and two hypothesized factors: object control and locomotor skills. RESULTS The majority of children correctly identified the skills and could understand most of the pictures. Test-retest reliability analysis was good, with an agreement ration between 0.99 and 1.02. Ordinal alpha values ranged from acceptable (object control 0.73, locomotor 0.68) to good (all FMS 0.81). The hypothesized BSEM model had an adequate fit. CONCLUSIONS The PMSC can be used to investigate perceptions of childrens FMS competence. This instrument can also be satisfactorily used among Portuguese children.

Morfologia e crescimento dos 6 aos 10 anos de idade em Viana do Castelo, Portugal

In the Estudo Morfofuncional da Crianca Vianense 1911 elementary school children were measured throughout a four year period, resulting in 4064 individual observations of 6 to 10 year-old children (2054 girls, 2006 boys). The anthropometric variables (height, weight, skinfolds, muscle girth and bone breadth) were used to create percentile reference tables for the local population, and to study their somatotypes in relation to somatic fitness. The results were compared with other national and international studies. Vianas children averaged similar height, weight, muscular girths and bone breadths when compared with other Portuguese studies, but revealed a different growth rhythm and lower weight than the US children. Their skinfolds were also smaller than the reported values for Portugal and for the US. Throughout the elementary school time span, there was atendency to increases in ectomorphy component for boys, and endomorphy for both genders. In conclusion, Viana’s children growth characteristics appear to indicate a level of somatic fitness that is far from mirroring today’s international concerns regarding this matter.

Reliability and construct validity of the test of gross motor development-2 in Portuguese children

The use of several different assessment motor tools make difficult to make comparisons of childhood motor competence across countries. Although the Test Gross Motor Development 2 (TGMD-2) is one of the most used instruments for assessing motor competence, its validation for Portuguese population is needed. The aim of the article is to examine the psychometric proprieties of the TGMD-2, using a Portuguese sample. Totally 330 children aged 5–10 years were assessed with TGMD-2. Cronbach’s alpha assessed internal consistency. Test–retest reliability was estimated with the Bland–Altman method. Construct validity was assessed by a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The hypothesised model used 12 items and 2 factors: object control and locomotor skills. The test–retest reliability analysis was good, with an agreement ratio of .96 (.09) for 12 skills. Cronbach’s alpha values showed acceptable internal consistency (.69 for 12 items, .46 for locomotor skills, and .64 for object control skills). The results of the CFA [CFI = .956, NFI = .868, NNFI = .937, SRMR = .048, and RMSEA = .036 (90% CI: .010–.054)] support the two-factor structure of the original version. Portuguese TGMD-2 version is a reliable and valid tool to assess the gross motor skills of Portuguese children aged 5–10 years.