Age and Sex Differences in the Motor Performance of 6 Through 11 Year Old Children

Abstract

This study examined the effects of age and sex on motor performance of 6 through 11 year old children. The subjects were 273 randomly selected healthy children enrolled in an elementary school in Ankara. The data were analyzed for age and sex differences by using two way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The Scheffe post-hoc analysis procedure was used to test the differences between all possible pairs of means where a significant F-ratio was obtained. The results of the ANOVA showed significant age and sex main effects on three (Standing Broad Jump, Sit-Ups, Shuttle Run) of the four tests. However, no significant age and sex main effects were obtained on the Sit and Reach test. The results also indicated that there were no significant age/sex interactions on all the motor test items. Overall, results indicated that increases in the mean performance for boys and girls were observable with each advancing age level in this study. There is also some evidence showing the effects of sex differences after age 9.