Fundamental Motor Skills, Perceptions of Physical Competence, and Perceptions of Peer and Maternal Acceptance in Preschool Children (Motor Behavior)

Harter’s Model of Competence Motivation (1981) asserts that perceptions of competence influence individuals’ motivation to engage in particular behaviors. Perceptions of physical competence have been related to actual motor skill competence in older children, while no relationship has been found in children under the age of five (Rudisill, Mahar, & Meaney, 1993; Ulrich, 1987). Because the Model of Competence Motivation also highlights the importance of socialization in developing motivation for particular behaviors, it is possible that peer and parents will influence the actual motor competence of preschool aged children. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine the effect of perceptions of physical competence and maternal and peer acceptance on actual motor competence in preschool children. Preschool-age (3-4 years) children (N = 41, n_girls = 19, n_boys = 22) completed the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (PSPCSA; Harter, Pike, Efron, Chao, & Bierer, 1983) and the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-II; Ulrich, 2000). The TGMD-II results in three standard scores – locomotor, object-control, and the gross motor quotient. Each of these scores were used as the criterion variable in three separate stepwise regression analyses that were conducted. The predictor variables for the analyses were perceived physical competence, peer acceptance, maternal acceptance, and gender. Results showed that peer acceptance (p = .006) positively and maternal acceptance negatively predicted (p = .042) a child’s standardized locomotor score. Peer and maternal acceptance explained 19.7% of the variance in the standardized locomotor scores. None of the predictor variables were significantly related to a child’s standardized object-control scores. Finally, peer acceptance (p = .021) and maternal acceptance negatively predicted (p = .039) a child’s gross motor quotient. Together, the two predictor variables explained 16.6% of the variance in the gross motor quotient. Discussion will frame the results within Harter’s Model of Competence Motivation (1981). Additionally, the discussion will examine the importance of the relationship between peer acceptance and a preschool child’s actual motor competence.
Keyword(s): early childhood, physical activity, research