title: Influence of age, sex and somatic variables on the motor performance of pre-school children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Biological factors can affect the motor development process of children. However, the magnitude of these effects throughout the developmental process remains fairly unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the influence of age, sex and selected somatic measures on the motor performance of pre-school children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred and sixty-seven pre-schoolers (172 boys and 195 girls), aged from 3-5 years old, were recruited from 10 public pre-schools located in the district of Viana do Castelo, Portugal. The children's motor performance was assessed by five motor sub-tests of Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2: grasping, visuo-motor integration, stationary, locomotion and object manipulation sub-tests. Age, sex, height, weight and BMI were considered as hypothetical predictors of motor performance. Pearson's correlation test and multiple linear regression analysis were used to explore the magnitude of the relationship between motor sub-tests and the hypothetical predictors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Depending on the motor sub-test and age group, the models predicted motor performance from a minimum of 3.6% to a maximum of 34.4%. Age in months and sex stood out as the main predictors of motor performance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The relationship between motor performance and selected biological factors varied with age and with the specificity of the motor test.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa , Portugal .
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Saraiva
authors.forename: Luís P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cordovil
authors.forename: João
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barreiros
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D011174:Portugal; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors