MEDIATING EFFECT OF EXTERNAL FACTORS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DEVELOPMENTAL COORDINATION DISORDER AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN

Wen-Chao Ho, Huynh-Truc Tran, Li-Wei Chou, Sheng K Wu, Yao-Chuen Li
Purpose:

This study aimed to explore whether external factors, including parental marriage status, education level, employment status, annual household income, and PA behaviors, would play a mediating role in the relationship between DCD and PA in school-aged children.

Methods:

63 children aged 6.5–8 years (n = 12 DCD, 19.05%) and their parents participated in this study and provided valid data. Children with DCD were confirmed to meet the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-V. Children’s PA was measured using accelerometers (i.e., time spent in activities with various intensities and counts per minutes in each axis), while their parents were requested to complete an online survey regarding the external factors. The parallel mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS software macro for SPSS. It is worth noting that the external factors were included into the mediation model only if they were significantly correlated with either children’s motor coordination or PA levels.

Results:

Parental marriage status showed significant associations with both vigorous PA (VPA, r = 0.302, p 0.05) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (r = 0.265, p 0.05). Additionally, parent sitting time on weekdays was significantly, positively associated with VPA (r = 0.280, p 0.05), while parent napping time on weekdays was significantly, negatively associated with DCD (r = -0.260, p 0.05). Furthermore, parent sleeping time on weekdays demonstrated significant, positive associations with light PA (LPA, r = 0.362, p 0.01), total PA (r = 0.357, p 0.01), counts per minute (CPM) in axis 2 (r = 0.311, p 0.05), CPM in axis 3 (r = 0.332, p 0.01), and CPM vector magnitude (r = 0.324, p 0.05). Parent sleeping time on weekends was also significantly associated with LPA (r = 0.280, p 0.05). Notably, there was no significant mediating effect of external factors on the relationship between DCD and children’s PA. 

Conclusion(s):

Parental factors may not play a mediating role in the relationship between DCD and children’s PA in school-aged children. The study highlights the importance of the investigation on the external factors from other sources, such as siblings or classmates, which could also impact PA behaviors in children with DCD. Therefore, further research is warranted to gain a more comprehensive understanding toward the underlying mechanisms of PA in school-aged children with DCD. 

Implications:

The involvement of parents may be not an efficient intervention strategy to increase PA participation in children with poor motor coordination.

Funding acknowledgements:
National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan (grant no. NSTC 112-2410-H-039-006-MY2) and China Medical University, Taiwan (grant no. CMU112-MF-95).
Keywords:
Developmental coordination disorder
Physical activity
Mediation
Primary topic:
Paediatrics
Second topic:
Health promotion and wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity
Did this work require ethics approval?:
Yes
Name the institution and ethics committee that approved your work:
The Institutional Research Board of China Medical University Hospital
Provide the ethics approval number:
(CRREC-108-021)
Has any of this material been/due to be published or presented at another national or international conference prior to the World Physiotherapy Congress 2025?:
No

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