a b s t r a c tObjectives: This study was aimed at developing a quantitative model to evaluate motor competence (MC) in children and adolescents, to be applicable in research, education, and clinical contexts. Design: Cross-sectional. Methods: A total of 584 children (boys n = 300) with ages between 6 and 14 years were assessed using nine well known quantitative motor tasks, divided into three major components (stability, locomotor and manipulative). Structural equation modelling through EQS 6.1 was used to find the best model for representing the structural and measurement validity of MC. Results: The final MC model was composed by three latent factors closely related with each other. Each factor was best represented by two of the initial three motor tasks chosen. The model was shown to give a very good overall fit ( 2 = 12.04, p = .061; NFI = .982; CFI = .991; RMSEA = .059). Conclusions: MC can be parsimoniously represented by six quantitative motor tasks, grouped into three interrelated factors. The developed model was shown to be robust when applied to different samples, demonstrating a good structural and measurement reliability. The use of a quantitative protocol with few, simple to administer and well known, motor tasks, is an important advantage of this model, since it can be used in several contexts with different objectives. We find it especially beneficial for physical educations teachers who have to regularly assess their students.

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Thus far, few studies have examined the estimation and actual performance of locomotor ability in older adults. To our knowledge, there are no studies examining the relationship between stepping-forward estimation versus ability and fall occurrence. The aim of this study was to develop and assess the reliability and validity of a new test for fall risk assessment in community-dwelling older adults. In total, 347 participants (73.1 ± 6.2 years; 266 women) were assessed for their perception of maximum distance for the stepping-forward and action boundary. The test was developed following the existing literature and expert opinions. The task showed strong internal consistency. Intraclass correlation ranged from 0.99 to 1 for intrarater agreement and from 0.83 to 0.97 for interrater agreement. Multivariate binary regression analysis models revealed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.665 (95% CI: 0.608–0.723) for fallers and 0.728 (95% CI: 0.655–0.797) for recurrent fallers. The stepping-forward affordance perception test (SF-APT) was demonstrated to be accurate, reliable and valid for fall risk assessment. The results showed that a large estimated stepping-forward associated with an underestimated absolute error works as a protective mechanism for fallers and recurrent fallers in community-dwelling older adults. SF-APT is safe, quick, easy to administer, well accepted and reproducible for application in community or clinical settings by either clinical or nonclinical care professionals.

An inaccurate perception of motor competence might compromise the engagement of children in physical activities and might be a problem in terms of safety in physical education classes or at playgrounds. The relationship between estimation and actual performance in children with different levels of performance in Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) was analyzed. Three hundred and three children (aged 6 to 10 years) were ranked according to their performance in FMS tasks: jumping, kicking, throwing, and walking backwards (WB) on a balance beam. TertilesPrior to performing the tasks children estimated their maximum performance. Absolute percent errors (i.e., deviation percentage from accurate estimations), and error tendency (i.e., frequency of underestimations, right judgments, or overestimations) were calculated. All performance groups tended to overestimate their skills at all tasks, except for the upper tertile group at the WB task (underestimation tendency). After controlling for age, children in the lower tertiles were consistently less accurate than children in the upper tertiles, exhibiting greater absolute percent errors for all the tasks. The overestimation tendency that was found gagement in physical activities, but unrealistic estimations might be a problem in terms of safety.

This study examined motor competence (MC) behavior in 6- to 14-year-old children, and investigated the differences in health-related fitness (HRF) between high and low MC groups, according to sex and age. A sample of 564 children (288 males) participated in this study, divided into three age groups (6–8 years; 9–11 years; 12–14 years). Total MC and its three components (stability, locomotor, and manipulative) were assessed with a quantitative instrument. HRF was evaluated using a maximal multistage 20-m shuttle-run test and the handgrip test. Participants were divided into tertiles according to their MC level and high and low MC groups were analyzed. Overall, MC increased across age groups for both sexes, but boys presented better results than girls. The high MC group outperformed their low MC peers in all HRF variables, independent of their age group. Although cardiovascular fitness increased with age for both the high and low MC groups, the differences between these groups were greater in older children compared to younger children, within the study age range. The findings suggest that MC interventions should be considered as an important strategy to enhance HRF, and girls at a young age should be a priority target.