There is some, albeit inconsistent, evidence supporting sex differences in preschoolers' motor competence (MC), with these observations not uniform when analyzed by age, and cultural groups. Thus, this study examined sex differences across ages in 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children's MC. A cross‐country pooled sample of 6241 children aged 3–5 years (49.6% girls) was assessed for MC using the Test of Gross Motor Development—2nd/3rd edition, and children were categorized into groups of age in months. Multiple linear regression models and predictive margins were calculated to explore how sex and age in months affect scores of MC (i.e., locomotor and ball skills), with adjustments for country and BMI. The Chow's Test was used to test for the presence of a structural break in the data. Significant differences in favor of girls were seen at 57–59 and 66–68 months of age for locomotor skills; boys performed better in ball skills in all age periods, except for 42–44 and 45–47 months of age. The higher marginal effects were observed for the period between 45–47 and 48–50 months for locomotor skills (F = 30.21; and F = 25.90 for girls and boys, respectively), and ball skills (F = 19.01; and F = 42.11 for girls and boys, respectively). A significantly positive break point was seen at 45–47 months, highlighting the age interval where children's MC drastically improved. The identification of this breakpoint provides an evidence‐based metric for when we might expect MC to rapidly increase, and an indicator of early delay when change does not occur at that age.

中文翻译：

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3 至 5 岁儿童运动能力的性别差异：6241 名儿童的汇总横断面分析


有一些证据（尽管不一致）支持学龄前儿童运动能力（MC）方面的性别差异，但按年龄和文化群体进行分析时，这些观察结果并不统一。因此，本研究调查了 3 至 5 岁儿童 MC 的不同年龄的性别差异。使用粗大运动发育测试（第 2 版/第 3 版）对 6241 名 3-5 岁儿童（49.6% 女孩）的跨国汇总样本进行了 MC 评估，并将儿童按月龄分组。计算多元线性回归模型和预测裕度，以探索性别和年龄（以月为单位）如何影响 MC 分数（即运动和球技能），并根据国家和 BMI 进行调整。 Chow 检验用于测试数据中是否存在结构断裂。 57-59 个月和 66-68 个月龄的女孩在运动技能方面存在显着差异；除 42-44 个月和 45-47 个月龄外，男孩在所有年龄段的球技表现都较好。在 45-47 个月和 48-50 个月期间，观察到运动技能的边际效应较高（ F = 30.21；和F = 女孩和男孩分别 = 25.90）和球技（ F = 19.01；和F = 女孩和男孩分别为 42.11）。在 45-47 个月时出现了显着的正转折点，突出了儿童 MC 显着改善的年龄间隔。这个断点的识别为我们预计 MC 何时快速增加提供了一个基于证据的指标，并且在该年龄没有发生变化时提供了早期延迟的指标。