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

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.

Development of Basic Motor Skills from 3 to 10 Years of Age: Comparison by Sex and Age Range in Chilean Children

“…This was similar to Hardy et al [31], in a study with 425 preschool children in Sydney, where boys performed better in object control and girls performed better in locomotion skills. This situation coincides with the above in a study by Martins et al [58] who, when evaluating the motor development of 6241 Brazilian children aged 3 to 5 years, concluded that girls presented better performance in locomotion tests mainly between 57 and 59 months, as well as at 66 and 68 months. Boys outperformed girls in ball skills tests in all age groups.…”

“…This coincides with the results presented by the authors of [ 35 ], in an intervention study to improve motor development, which showed that 93% of the children evaluated had a lower level of motor development than the chronological age. However, there is evidence that indicates that the higher the chronological age, the higher the motor age, a situation that is explained by the fact that as motor performance increases [ 60 ], there is also a greater maturation of the central nervous system [ 58 , 59 , 61 ].…”