The developmental trajectory of motor competence of children that lived the COVID-19 confinement period: a four-year follow-up study in Portuguese children

Carballo-Fazanes, AidaRodrigues, Luis PauloSilva, RuiLopes, Vitor P.Abelairas-Gómez, Cristian2023-01-062023-01-062022Carballo-Fazanes, Aida; Rodrigues, Luis Paulo; Silva, Rui; Lopes, Vitor P.; Abelairas-Gómez, Cristian (2022). The developmental trajectory of motor competence of children that lived the COVID-19 confinement period: a four-year follow-up study in Portuguese children. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology. ISSN 2411-5142. 7:3, p. 1-102411-5142http://hdl.handle.net/10198/26372Children’s motor competence (MC) was negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; however, possible chronic effects have not been studied. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the possible impact of the forced lack of physical activity (PA) during the COVID-19 lockdown on children’s MC two years later. The motor competence of sixty-seven healthy children (7.4–12.2 years old) was assessed using the Motor Competence Assessment (MCA). All participants completed the MCA tests at two different moments (before and after the COVID-19 lockdown), four years apart. The mean values after the COVID-19 lockdown for all participants on the subscales and on the Total MCA are lower, but no significant changes were found when controlling for gender and age (p > 0.05 in all analyses). However, a significant decrease was found in the Locomotor subscale in boys (p = 0.003). After dividing the participants into three age groups, the youngest also suffered a decrease in the Locomotor subscale (p < 0.001) and their Total MCA (p = 0.04). In addition, those participants who had a higher MC at baseline decreased their scores for the Locomotor (p < 0.001) and Manipulative (p < 0.001) subscales, and for the Total MCA (p < 0.001). In conclusion, the younger children and the more motor proficient did not fully recover from the negative effects of the pandemic lockdown after two years.engCOVID-19 lockdownPhysical activityMotor competenceMotor competence assessmentResearch Subject Categories::INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AREAS::SportsThe developmental trajectory of motor competence of children that lived the COVID-19 confinement period: a four-year follow-up study in Portuguese childrenjournal article10.3390/jfmk7030064