A child’s ability to rise from the floor to a standing position is seen as a developmental milestone in their physical independence. In addition, the supine-to-stand (STS) test for time is used to examine functional status in the elderly. However, the association of STS time to cardiorespiratory fitness and other functional motor skills in children is not known. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between STS and cardiorespiratory endurance and standing long jump distance in preschool children.
Method:
A convenient sample of 63 (girls = 32) four and five year-old children participated in the study. To measure STS time, children started in a supine position on the floor with their heels against a line nine inches from a wall and were asked to stand as quick as possible and touch a designated spot on the wall in front of them. Children performed five trials of the STS task with their average time, measured using a stopwatch, used for data analyses. Children also performed the 15-meter PACER test (accompanied by an adult lure) and the standing long jump for distance. All tests were conducted on two separate occasions to examine reliability (using intraclass correlations) in this early childhood population.
Analysis/Results:
A test-retest reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient was conducted for the STS and Pacer test. Results showed a substantial agreement in both Pacer (ICC= .718, p<.00) and STS (ICC=. 782 , p<.00). Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation with an alpha of p ≤ 0.05 used to determine significance (IBM SPSS version 22). Results demonstrated moderately high inverse correlation (r = - .66, p <.01) between STS task and the number of PACER laps. Data also revealed a moderately high correlation (r = -.61, p <.01) between STS task and standing long jump distance.
Conclusions:
We found evidence to support an association between STS time and measures of cardiorespiratory endurance and gross motor function in preschool children. The results from this study suggest STS time may be an important and practical way to assess functional and health status in early childhood.