Variation and Predictors of Gross Motor Coordination Development in Azorean Children: A Quantile Regression Approach

We investigated the development of gross motor coordination (GMC) as well as its predictors in school-aged Azorean children. The sample included 181 children (90 girls), followed consecutively for 4 years from 6 to 9 years of age. GMC was assessed with the Korperkoordinationstest fur Kinder, and predictors included body mass index, standing long jump, 50-yard dash, and shuttle run. The changes in GMC and the effects of predictors were analyzed with mean-modeling as well as quantile regression. In the latter, we considered the following three quantiles (Q): Q20, Q50, and Q80 as markers of low, median, and high GMC levels, respectively. All analyses were conducted using R software and alpha was set at 5%. The GMC changes were curvilinear in both models, but the quantile approach showed a more encompassing picture of the changes across the three quantiles in both boys and girls with different rates of change. Further, the predictors had different effect sizes across the quantiles in both sexes, but in the mean-model their effects were constant. In conclusion, quantile regression provides more detailed information and permits a more thorough understanding of changes in GMC over time and the influence of putative predictors.

Automated summary

This study investigated the development of gross motor coordination and its predictors in school-aged Azorean children. The quantile regression approach provided a more comprehensive understanding of the changes in GMC and the influence of predictors in boys and girls with different rates of change.