Investigating gender differences between actual- and perceived motor competence in children eight to nine years.

Background: Young children’s perceptions of their motor skills often do not align with their actual abilities. Recent research has focused on understanding the relationships between these perceptions in young children.

Purpose of this study were to investigate whether 8-9-year-old children are accurate in perceiving their motor competence and to examine possible age and gender-related differences.

Method: This is a cross-sectional study that was part of the PERF-FIT research study. Three hundred fifty-five participants (166 boys;189 girls) participated in the study. The BOT-2 SF and the MABC-2 were used to evaluate the motor competence (AMC). The perceived motor competence (PMC) was also assessed through the Motor Coordination Questionnaire (MCQ) for children. The relationship between the factors were then assessed and gender and age differences were also examined. Measurements were taken in 2019, 2022, and 2023.

Results: The results indicate weak correlation (r>0.01–0.39) between AMC and PMC in both genders. The analysis of MCQ measures and MABC-2 scores revealed significant correlations (r=0.203, p= <0.05). MCQ had negative correlations with fine motor skills including placing pegs (dominant hand; r=-0.13, p=0.014) and drawing trial (r=-0.26, p<0.001). Furthermore, the MCQ showed positive correlations with AMC including sit-ups (r=0.13, p = 0.018) and dribbling a ball with alternating hands (r=0.18, p<0.001) in the BOT-2 Short Form. Additionally, significant differences (p=0.002) between how the genders perceived their motor skills were reported where the boys outperformed the girls.

Conclusion: This research explored gender disparities in PMC among 8-9-year-old children, highlighting the link between PMC and AMC. It underscores the significance of addressing both AMC and PMC. The study highlights that higher PMC corresponds to improved objective performance; however, girls tend to underestimate their abilities. To better understand the influence of gender on motor skills and task performance, future research should explore collaborative efforts in this area.