Gender differences in fundamental motor skill development in disadvantaged preschoolers from two geographical regions.
This study examined the influence of gender and region on object control (OC) and locomotor skill development. Participants were 275 midwestern African American and 194 southwestern Hispanic preschool children who were disadvantaged. All were evaluated on the Test of Gross MotorDevelopment-2 (Ulrich, 2000). Two, 2 Gender (girls, boys) x 2 Region (midwest, southwest) analyses of variance were conducted on OC and locomotor percentile rank. Both midwestern and southwestern preschoolers were developmentally delayed in locomotor and OC skills (< 30th percentile). There was a significant difference for gender (p < .0001) and Gender x Region interaction (p = .02) for OC skills. Boys outperformed girls in the midwestern and southwestern regions. For locomotor skills, there was a significant difference for region (p < .001), with midwestern preschoolers having better locomotor skills.
Goodway
Jacqueline D
JD
School of Physical Activity and Educational Services, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. goodway.1@osu.edu
Robinson
Leah E
LE
Crowe
Heather
H
D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003479:Curriculum; D002658:Developmental Disabilities; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009048:Motor Skills; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D011203:Poverty; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States