Title
Gender differences in motor skill proficiency from childhood to adolescence: a longitudinal study
Document Type
Article
Publication details
Barnett, LM, van Beurden, E, Morgan, PJ, Brooks, LO & Beard, JR 2010, 'Gender differences in motor skill proficiency from childhood to adolescence: a longitudinal study', Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 162-170.
Peer Reviewed
Peer-Reviewed
Abstract
Students' proficiency in three object control and three locomotor skills were assessed in 2000 (M age = 10.06 years, SD = 0.63) in New South Wales, Australia and in 2006-07 (M age = 16.44 years, SD = 0.64). In 2006-07, 266 students, 138 girls (51.9%) and 128 boys (48.1%), had at least one skill reassessed. Boys were more object control proficient than girls. Childhood object control proficiency significantly predicted (p = .001) adolescent object control proficiency (r2 = .39), and, while gender was significant (p = .001), it did not affect the relationship between these variables (p = .53). Because childhood object control proficiency is predictive of subsequent object control proficiency, developing skills in childhood is important.