Impact of COVID-19 restrictions on motor coordination in Italian school-aged children
The development of motor coordination is essential during childhood and is closely influenced by opportunities for physical activity and sports participation. The COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions may have alter
IntroductionThe development of motor coordination is essential during childhood and is closely influenced by opportunities for physical activity and sports participation. The COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions may have altered children's motor experiences and motor coordination development. To what extent motor coordination has changed in Italian school-aged children from before the pandemic until its end and beyond remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the level of motor coordination in Italian school-aged children aged 8–10 years from three independent cohorts (i.e., pre-COVID-19, post-COVID-19, and follow-up COVID-19 restrictions).
MethodsOverall, 449 school-aged children aged 8–10 years were included from three independent cohorts (i.e., pre-COVID-19 n = 141; post-COVID-19 n = 139; follow-up COVID-19 restrictions n = 169). The Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK) was used to assess children's motor coordination. The test consists of four subtests: walking backward on beams of decreasing widths; moving sideways on the floor for 20 s; two-legged jumping sideways over a beam for 15 s; one-legged hopping for height over an obstacle of increasing height. A Motor Quotient (MQ) was calculated from the sum of the four subtests' scores. The children's physical activity level was assessed using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C), referring to the previous seven days. All assessments were conducted during physical education classes by the same researchers.
ResultsThe three-way ANOVA revealed significant effects in the Time factor (i.e., pre-COVID-19; post-COVID-19; and follow-up COVID-19 restrictions) in all the subtests. We detected significant reductions from pre- to post- and from pre- to follow-up in all the subtests (except from pre- to post- for the walking backward subtest), as well as for the Motor Quotient score (p < 0.01). The results suggest that COVID-19 restrictions had a negative impact on motor coordination in Italian school-aged children.