Bidirectional relationships of physical activity and gross motor skills before and after summer break: Application of a cross-lagged panel model

Burns, Ryan D.; Bai, Yang; Byun, Wonwoo; Colotti, Taylor E; Pfledderer, Christopher D.; Kwon, Sunku; Brusseau, Timothy A.

doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2020.07.001

“…Knowing that summer break, can be a barrier to children’s engagement in positive health behaviors [ 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 ] and that gross motor skills before summer break significantly predict school PA after this break [ 56 ], the question that arises is what impact will the results of this study have in the future? Will children be able to catch up from this greater inactivity period?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Portuguese Children’s Motor Competence

Pombo

¹

,

Luz

²

,

Sá

³

et al. 2021

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During long periods without school, children are more susceptible to unhealthy behaviors, such as an increase in sedentary behaviors, which has a negative impact on children’s motor competence (MC). The COVID-19 lockdown offered us a unique opportunity to test, in a quasi-experimental setting, the impact of lockdown movement restrictions on children’s MC. We assessed the motor competence of 114 children aged 6–9 years using the motor competence assessment. All children were tested before and after the COVID-19 lockdown. Chi-square and 2 × 2 ANOVA (sex by moment) were used to further analyze the data. Regardless of sex, motor performances in all tests (except for jumping sideways in boys) were lower when compared with performances before lockdown. There was a marked decreasing trend in children’s levels of MC, shifting from an upper to a lower quartile in different tests. The results after the lockdown were always significantly inferior to the results before lockdown in all motor tests (except jumping sideways), in the three components of MC, and in global MC. Children’s global MC score decreased by an average of 13 points in boys and 16 points in girls. The imposed movement restrictions had a negative effect on children’s motor competence development.

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“…This finding is, perhaps, unsurprising as 85% of the sample do not recall having training on FMS. The lack of FMS in teacher training courses is particularly alarming, due to the wide-ranging impacts this group of motor skills has on childhood development (Ahn & Fedewa, 2011 ; Brown & Cairney, 2020 ; Burns et al, 2020 ; Li et al, 2019a ; Stodden et al, 2008 ; De Waal, 2019 ). Additionally, the results of this questionnaire found that teachers who had previous training on FMS were more likely to work in schools where FMS assessments are being undertaken, and were also more likely to think that there would be sufficient time for a start of year assessment and that results of such assessments would aid teaching practices.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meanwhile, there are grounds to suggest that failing to acquire FMS at the appropriate age may increase the risk of a child experiencing long-term physical and mental health problems (Barnett et al, 2016 ). FMS deficits are hypothesized to be causal in poor health because they influence a child’s ability to participate in physical activity (Burns et al, 2020 ; Jarvis et al, 2018 ; Logan et al, 2015 , 2018 ; Stodden et al, 2008 ), and low levels of physical activity in childhood are associated with many adverse physical and mental health problems (Ahn & Fedewa, 2011 ; Timmons et al, 2012 ). Suggestion of a direct impact on educational attainment provides another mediating pathway through which FMS may influence childhood development; a recent systematic review (Macdonald et al, 2018 ) found evidence generally in favor of positive associations existing between FMS and educational attainment in reading and mathematics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fundamental Movement Skills and Their Assessment in Primary Schools from the Perspective of Teachers

Eddy

¹

,

Hill

²

,

Mon-Williams

³

et al. 2021

Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science

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Evidence suggests that children struggle to acquire age-appropriate fundamental movement skills (FMS), despite their importance for facilitating physical activity. This has led to calls for routine school-based screening of children's FMS. However, there is limited research exploring schools' capacity to conduct such assessments. This study investigated what factors might affect the adoption and implementation of FMS assessments in primary schools. School staff (n = 853) completed an online questionnaire developed using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behavior (COM-B) model. A majority reported that knowledge of pupils' FMS ability would be beneficial (65.3%), and 71.8% would assess FMS if support was provided. Barriers included: Capability -few possessed knowledge of FMS (15%); Opportunity -teachers reported 30-60 minutes as acceptable for assessing a class, a substantially shorter period than current assessments require; Motivation -57.2% stated FMS assessments would increase workload stress. Solutions to these issues are discussed using the COM-B theoretical framework.

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“…The strength of using a cross-lagged model panel approach is that it allows researchers to explore the autoregressive and cross-lagged pathways. The autoregressive effect identifies an association of a variable on itself at a later time, and the cross-lagged effects display an association of a variable with another variable at a later point within the model [38]. Therefore, the cross-lagged model allows for identification of possible bidirectional relationships of variables over time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bidirectional Relationships among Children’s Perceived Competence, Motor Skill Competence, Physical Activity, and Cardiorespiratory Fitness across One School Year

Ryu

¹

,

Lee

²

,

Zeng

³

et al. 2021

BioMed Research International

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Purpose. The bidirectional associations among children’s motor skill competence (MSC), perceived competence (PC), physical activity (PA), and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) over time remain unanswered. This study is aimed at discerning the bidirectional relationships among elementary school children’s MSC, PC, PA and, CRF over the course of one school year. Methods. A total of 261 second and third grade children (127 boys, 134 girls; mea n age = 8.27 years; BMI = 18.22 ± 3.71 ) were recruited from two Texas elementary schools. Approximately 73.56% of participants were White American. Children’s baseline data were assessed in September/October in 2012 (Time1), and identical assessments were conducted in April/May in 2013 (Time2). MSC was assessed using product-oriented skill tests (e.g., throw, kick, and jump). PC was assessed via the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence for Children. Minutes spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) was assessed using ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers for five days, and CRF was assessed by the PACER test. Six age- and body mass index-adjusted cross-lagged panel models were used to test the relationships between the variables. Results. We observed that T1 MSC significantly predicted T2 MSC ( β = 0.59 ; p < 0.01 ), T2 CRF ( β = 0.28 ; p < 0.01 ), and T2 MVPA ( β = 0.18 ; p < 0.01 ). Children’s CRF was a positive predictor for T2 CRF ( β = 0.56 ; p < 0.01 ) and T2 MSC ( β = 0.13 ; p < 0.05 ) Additionally, T1 MVPA significantly predicted T2 MVPA ( β = 0.30 ; p < 0.01 ) and T2 PC ( β = − 0.14 ; p < 0.05 ). Conclusion. Findings suggested a fully bidirectional relationship between elementary children’s MSC and CRF. Other bidirectional relationships among the variables were only partially supported. Educators and health professionals need to emphasize the importance of developing both MSC and CRF to maintain physical health over time.

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Bidirectional relationships of physical activity and gross motor skills before and after summer break: Application of a cross-lagged panel model

Cited by 14 publications

References 64 publications

Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Portuguese Children’s Motor Competence

Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Portuguese Children’s Motor Competence

Fundamental Movement Skills and Their Assessment in Primary Schools from the Perspective of Teachers

Bidirectional Relationships among Children’s Perceived Competence, Motor Skill Competence, Physical Activity, and Cardiorespiratory Fitness across One School Year

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