Effect of a motor skill-based intervention in the relationship of individual and contextual factors in children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder from low-income families

Contextual opportunities facilitate skill acquisition, and the interaction between individual and contextual fac-tors is fundamental to enhancing health and social parameters in children with DCD. This study examined (1) the influence of Mastery Motivational Climate (MMC) and Exercise Play Climate (EPC) interventions on motor performance, physical activity, self-perceptions, BMI, engagement in the lessons, playtime, and screen time of children without and with DCD, (2) the relationship between motor performance, self-perceptions, BMI, engagement in the physical education lessons, playtime, and screen factors in the children's physical activity levels in the lessons (PA) pre-and post-test. Children (N = 255, 98 children with Developmental Coordination Disorder -DCD; 157 children without DCD) were randomly assigned to MMC and EPC. Physical Activity levels in the lessons, motor performance, self-perceptions of physical competence, body mass indexes, appropriate motor engagement with success in the lessons, and active play and screen time were assessed. Regarding intervention impact, from pre-to post-tests, the results showed increases (1) PA in children with DCD in the EPC group and without DCD in the MMC group; (2) locomotor and ball skills for children with DCD in both climates; (3) lo-comotor and ball skills for children without DCD in the MMC group; (4) self-perceptions of competence for children with DCD in the MMC group; and (5) engagement with success for all children in both climates. A slight decrease in BMI for children with DCD in both climates was found. Regarding the associations, at post-test, engagement with success explained (1) PA levels for children with DCD in the MMC group and children without DCD in the EPC group; (2) active playtime explained PA for children with DCD in the EPC group; (3) ball skills explained PA for children without DCD in the MMC group. The intervention promoted overall increases in motor performance and children's engagement in the lesson. The intervention strengthened the role of ball skills performance, engagement with success, and active play; however, these relationships were different across groups.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effects of Mastery Motivational Climate (MMC) and Exercise Play Climate (EPC) interventions on motor performance, physical activity, self-perceptions, BMI, engagement, playtime, and screen time in children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). The results showed that the interventions led to increased physical activity levels in children with DCD in the EPC group and in children without DCD in the MMC group. Both groups of children with DCD showed improvements in motor skills, while self-perceptions of competence improved in children with DCD in the MMC group. All children showed increased engagement with success. There was a slight decrease in BMI for children with DCD in both groups. Different associations were found between variables in different groups.