TY - JOUR
T1 - Associations of gross motor skills with self-regulation and executive function in preschool-aged children
AU - Veldman, Sanne L. C.
AU - Hammersley, Megan L.
AU - Howard, Steven J.
AU - Stanley, Rebecca M.
AU - Okely, Anthony D.
AU - Jones, Rachel A.
N1 - Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study is supported by a National health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant [2014–2017; ID1062433]. ADO was supported by a National Heart Foundation of Australia Career Development Fellowship [CR11S 6099]. The funding body played no role in the study design; data collection, analysis, and interpretation; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2023/9
Y1 - 2023/9
N2 - This study aimed to examine associations between gross motor skills and executive functions (EF) in a large sample of Australian preschool-aged children. Of 566 children (mean age = 3.2 ± 0.4 years, 51.2% girls), locomotor, object control, and total skill competence were significantly associated with visual spatial working memory and inhibition (p < 0.05). Total skill competence was associated with shifting and locomotor skills were significantly associated with self-regulation (p < 0.05). Static balance was significantly associated with inhibition and shifting (p < 0.05). In boys, an association between object control skills and visual spatial working memory was observed. In girls, an association between static balance and visual spatial working memory, phonological working memory, and shifting was observed. The identification of significant associations between gross motor skills and different EFs is an important contribution to the growing evidence on the relationship between motor skills and EFs in early childhood.
AB - This study aimed to examine associations between gross motor skills and executive functions (EF) in a large sample of Australian preschool-aged children. Of 566 children (mean age = 3.2 ± 0.4 years, 51.2% girls), locomotor, object control, and total skill competence were significantly associated with visual spatial working memory and inhibition (p < 0.05). Total skill competence was associated with shifting and locomotor skills were significantly associated with self-regulation (p < 0.05). Static balance was significantly associated with inhibition and shifting (p < 0.05). In boys, an association between object control skills and visual spatial working memory was observed. In girls, an association between static balance and visual spatial working memory, phonological working memory, and shifting was observed. The identification of significant associations between gross motor skills and different EFs is an important contribution to the growing evidence on the relationship between motor skills and EFs in early childhood.
KW - Motor development
KW - cognitive development
KW - early childhood
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85159133375&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1177/18369391231175524
DO - https://doi.org/10.1177/18369391231175524
M3 - Article
SN - 1836-9391
VL - 48
SP - 234
EP - 246
JO - Australasian Journal of Early Childhood
JF - Australasian Journal of Early Childhood
IS - 3
ER -