ABSTRACT
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore how parent involvement influenced the effectiveness of a movement intervention targeting gross motor skills and physical activity behavior in preschool-aged boys and girls. Methods: Parents received training at monthly school-based sessions and online to implement the movement intervention once per month at school and once per week at home across 6 months (N = 104; Mage = 48.30 months, SD = 6.90). Children completed the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 at baseline and wore physical activity trackers 24/7 for six weeks during the intervention. COVID-19 disrupted the intervention and prevented immediate post testing. Children (N = 60; Mage = 60.86 months, SD = 6.57) who returned to the center one year later completed gross motor skill retention testing. Results: For each additional school-based session attended by the parents (up to six), children's locomotor and manipulative skills were 1.87 and 1.95 points higher, respectively, at the start of the following academic year. For physical activity, each session increase in attendance at the school-based component of the intervention resulted in an additional 1455 steps in average weekly step count. Conclusion: Increased parent engagement demonstrated greater change in gross motor skills and larger acute physical activity responses. Understanding barriers that impact the level of parental intervention engagement (i.e., dose) also provides insight into why some children learn and others do not within a parent-led intervention. Although the implementation and results of this study were impacted by COVID, these data can help researchers optimize future intervention strategies.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Male , Female , Humans , Child, Preschool , Motor Activity , Exercise/physiology , Parents/education , Schools , Motor Skills/physiologyABSTRACT
Children with visual impairments (VI) tend to struggle with their fundamental motor skills (FMS), and these difficulties often persist across the lifespan, requiring frequent assessment. The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) shows robust psychometric properties for children with VI. The TGMD, which includes 13 skills, is time-consuming to administer and score, warranting the need to explore brief versions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of three, six-skill versions of the TGMD-3 with children with VI. Children (n = 302; Boys = 58%, Girls = 42%; Mage = 13.00, SD = 2.50 years) with VI (B1 = 27%, B2 = 20%, B3 = 38%, B4 = 15%) participated in this study. We examined three different models using confirmatory factor analyses on the relationships between the motor skills and latent traits across the models. Scores from all three brief versions had acceptable global fit. Although further research should be conducted, practitioners can adopt a brief version of the TGMD to assess children with VI.
Subject(s)
Child Development , Motor Skills , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of Results , Vision Disorders/diagnosisABSTRACT
Youth with visual impairments are more likely to be overweight than peers without visual impairments and often struggle with their locomotor skills. Locomotor development can combat unhealthy body weight statuses by supporting physical activity behaviors. There are no longitudinal investigations concerning the locomotor skill and body mass index (BMI) developmental trajectories of youth with visual impairments. The purpose of this study was to examine the 3-year developmental trajectory of the locomotor skills and BMI of youth with visual impairments including differential effects of self-reported gender and degree of vision. Participants (N = 34, Mage = 11.75 years, 47% female) showed severely delayed and arrested locomotor development with increases in BMI across 3 years regardless of self-reported gender or degree of vision. Participants failed to breech a proficiency barrier of motor competence to combat against increases in BMI across time. Additional longitudinal inquiries are needed.
