THE EFFECTS OF AGE AND GENDER ON BALANCE SKILLS IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

• Published in: Facta Universitatis Series Physical Education and Sport Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 81 - 90
• Main Authors: Venetsanou, F, Kambas, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2011
• ISSN: 1451-740X

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of age and gender on balance skills in preschool children. For that purpose, the balance subtest of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (Bruininks, 1978) was administered to 283 children, 4 one half - 6 years old (M=61.77 months, SD= 5.43). For the data analysis, both an ANOVA and a MANOVA were applied on the total subtest score and the eight item scores, respectively. Age was found to have a significant effect on both the subtest (F2,277 = 32.77, p< .001, eta 2= .19) and item scores (min. F2,277= 17.78, p< .001, min. eta 2= .11). Significant gender differences were found in the subtest score (F1,277= 14.70, p< .001, eta 2= .05) and on six of the items (min. F2,277= 4.35, p< .038, min. eta 2= .01). However, the low values of the eta 2 associated with gender indicated that those differences were not of great significance.Original Abstract: Cilj ovog istrazivanja bio je da razmotri uticaj godista i pola na sposobnost balansiranja medu predskolskom decom. Iz tog razloga, koristili smo pod test za balansiranje Bruininks-Oseretsky testa za motoricke sposobnosti (Bruininks, 1978) i primenili ga na 283 dece, uzrasta 4 one half - 6 godina (M=61,77 meseci, SD= 5,43). Radi analize podataka, primenili smo i ANOVA i MANOVA analiz na celokupan skor pod testa i na osam pojedinacnih skora, tim redosledom. Ustanovljeno je da godiste ima znacajan uticaj na oba pod testa (F2,277 = 32,77, p< .001, eta 2= .19) i na pojedinacne testove (min. F2,277= 17.78, p< .001, min. eta 2= .11). Znacajne razlike u pogledu pola utvrdene su na skoru pod testa (F1,277= 14,70, p< .001, eta 2= .05) i na sest pojedinacnih testova (min. F2,277= 4,35, p< .038, min. eta 2= .01). Ipak, niske vrednosti eta 2 koje se povezuju sa polom bile su indikacija da te razlike nisu imale veliki znacaj.