Investigation of the Role of Age and Gender in the Perception of Motor Competence of Children Aged 7-10 Years of Ahvaz City in 2021: A Descriptive Study

Perceived motor competence (PMC) is person's perception of its actual motor competence, and characteristics such as age and gender differences may be effective on it. The aim of this study was to determine the role of age and gender in the PMC of children aged 7-10 years in Ahvaz.

The current study is descriptive in nature. 828 children aged 7-10 years were selected and evaluated as a cluster random sampling from different regions of Ahvaz in 2021. The research instrument was The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence (PMSC). Data were analyzed using independent t-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient test.

The relationship between the child's age and the PMC of the locomotor (r=0.44, p=0.001), object control (r=0.41, p=0.001), and the total test score (r=0.50, p=0.045) was positive and significant. There was a significant difference between girls and boys in the perceived competence of the object control subscale (p=0.001) and the overall score (p=0.003). Boys in the skills of running (p=0.018), jumping (p= 0.018), sliding (p=0.010), catching (p=0.043), kicking (p=0.003), and underhand throwing (p=0.034) had higher perceived motor competence.

The older children had higher PMC. Girls, compared with boys, had lower PMC in object control skills and some locomotor skills. This indicates that they are at risk of lower PMC. Therefore, it is recommended that interventional programs be planned to increase their perception of their competence.