Background

Motor competence and executive functions co-develop throughout childhood and adolescence, and there is emerging evidence that improvements in motor competence may have cognitive benefits in these populations. There is a need to provide a quantitative synthesis of the cross-sectional, longitudinal and experimental studies that have examined the association between motor competence and executive functions in school-aged youth.

Objectives

The primary aim of our systematic review was to synthesise evidence of the association between motor competence and executive functions in school-aged children and adolescents (5–18 years). Our secondary aim was to examine key moderators of this association.

Methods

We searched the PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Ovid MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus and EMBASE databases from inception up to 27 June 2023. We included cross-sectional, longitudinal and experimental studies that assessed the association between motor competence (e.g., general motor competence, locomotor skills, object control skills and stability skills) and executive functions (e.g., general executive functions, inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility) in children and adolescents aged 5–18 years.

Results

In total, 12,117 records were screened for eligibility, and 44 studies were included. From the 44 included studies, we meta-analysed 37 studies with 251 effect sizes using a structural equation modelling approach in the statistical program R. We found a small positive association (r = 0.18, [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.13–0.22]) between motor competence and executive functions. The positive associations were observed in cross-sectional (r = 0.17, [95% CI 0.13–0.22]), longitudinal (r = 0.15, [95% CI 0.03–0.28]) and experimental studies (r = 0.25, [95% CI 0.01–0.45]). We also found that general motor competence (r = 0.25, [95% CI 0.18–0.33]), locomotor (r = 0.15, [95% CI 0.09–0.21]), object control (r = 0.14, [95% CI 0.08–0.20]) and stability (r = 0.14, [95% CI 0.08–0.20]) skills were associated with executive functions. We did not find any moderating effects for participants’ age on the associations between motor competence and executive functions.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest a small-to-moderate positive association between motor competence and executive functions in children and adolescents. The small number of experimental studies included in this review support the assertion that interventions targeting children’s motor competence may be a promising strategy to improve their executive functions; however, more research is needed to confirm these findings. Future studies should explore the underlying mechanisms linking motor competence and executive functions as their comprehension may be used to optimise future intervention design and delivery.

PROSPERO Registration

CRD42021285134.

中文翻译：

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儿童和青少年运动能力与执行功能之间的关联：系统回顾和荟萃分析

 背景

运动能力和执行功能在整个童年和青春期共同发展，并且有新的证据表明运动能力的提高可能对这些人群的认知有益。有必要对横断面、纵向和实验研究进行定量综合，这些研究检验了学龄青少年运动能力和执行功能之间的关系。

 目标

我们系统评价的主要目的是综合学龄儿童和青少年（5-18 岁）运动能力与执行功能之间关联的证据。我们的次要目标是审查该协会的主要主持人。

 方法

我们检索了 PubMed、PsycINFO、Scopus、Ovid MEDLINE、SPORTDiscus 和 EMBASE 数据库，从建库到 2023 年 6 月 27 日。我们纳入了横断面、纵向和实验研究，评估了运动能力（例如一般运动能力、运动技能）之间的关联。 、物体控制技能和稳定性技能）以及 5-18 岁儿童和青少年的执行功能（例如一般执行功能、抑制、工作记忆和认知灵活性）。

 结果

总共筛选了 12,117 条记录的资格，纳入了 44 项研究。从纳入的 44 项研究中，我们使用统计程序 R 中的结构方程建模方法对 37 项研究的 251 个效应量进行了荟萃分析。我们发现存在较小的正相关性（r = 0.18，[95% 置信区间 (CI) 0.13–0.22） ]) 运动能力和执行功能之间的关系。在横断面研究（r = 0.17，[95% CI 0.13–0.22]）、纵向研究（r = 0.15，[95% CI 0.03–0.28]）和实验研究（r = 0.25，[95% CI 0.03–0.28]）中观察到正相关性。 CI 0.01–0.45]）。我们还发现一般运动能力（r = 0.25，[95% CI 0.18–0.33]）、运动能力（r = 0.15，[95% CI 0.09–0.21]）、物体控制能力（r = 0.14，[95% CI 0.08] –0.20]）和稳定性（r = 0.14，[95% CI 0.08–0.20]）技能与执行功能相关。我们没有发现参与者的年龄对运动能力和执行功能之间的关联有任何调节作用。

 结论

我们的研究结果表明，儿童和青少年的运动能力和执行功能之间存在小到中度的正相关关系。本综述中包含的少量实验研究支持以下观点：针对儿童运动能力的干预措施可能是改善其执行功能的有前途的策略；然而，需要更多的研究来证实这些发现。未来的研究应探索连接运动能力和执行功能的潜在机制，因为对它们的理解可用于优化未来的干预设计和实施。

 普洛斯彼罗注册

 CRD42021285134。