Associations Among Perceived Motor Competence, Motor Competence, Physical Activity, and Health-Related Physical Fitness of Children Ages 10-15 Years Old.

Purpose: To examine the associations among perceived motor competence (PMC), motor competence (MC), physical activity, and health-related physical fitness during middle childhood and early adolescence. Method: Participants were 47, 10-15 year old youth. Each participant completed two visits in East Tennessee or northwest Ohio. During these visits, the participants completed the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test (BOT-2) Analysis Test for Motor Proficiency, Harter’s PMC questionnaire, and the FITNESSGRAM battery for health-related physical fitness. The Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer was used to measure physical activity. Results: There were significant associations among health-related physical fitness and both motor percentile (r_s = 0.44, p < 0.01) and PMC (r_s = 0.32, p < 0.05). An association was found among PMC and MC (r_s = 0.47, p < 0.05). There were no significant associations among average daily MVPA and any of the other variables. Conclusions: High MC and PMC appear to be associated with higher levels of health-related physical fitness. It is important for children to learn fundamental motor skills to possibly participate in more complex motor skills related to physical fitness and for children to be encouraged in a positive manner while participating in physical activity to possibly increase their PMC.