Gross Motor Skills Predict Classroom Behavior in Lower-Income Children

Children from lower income families tend to have low levels of on-task behavior in the academic classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of gross motor skills and classroom behavior in a sample of lower-income children. Participants were a sample of 1,135 school-aged children (mean age = 8.3 ± 1.8 years) recruited from three low-income US schools. A reduced version of the Test for Gross Motor Development 2nd Edition (TGMD-2) was used to assess gross motor skills. Total TGMD-2 scores, locomotor subtest scores, and object control subtest scores were stratified into quintiles for analysis. Students' classroom behavior was recorded 1 year later using a Planned Activity Check (PLACHECK) 5-s momentary time sampling procedure. Classrooms were dichotomized into those that had students at least 80% on-task and those that did not. Multilevel generalized mixed models were employed to examine the relationship between gross motor skills and meeting at least 80% classroom behavior, adjusting for age, sex, and change in BMI, and aerobic fitness. Children in the highest TGMD-2 quintile had 4.17 higher odds of being in an on-task classroom 1 year later (95%CI [2.25–7.76], p < 0.001). This relationship was primarily driven by the relationship between object control quintile scores and classroom behavior, as children within the higher quintile for object control had 3.81 higher odds of being in an on-task classroom 1 year later (95%CI [2.67–5.46], p < 0.001). There was a significant relationship between individual gross motor skills, specifically object control skills, and group level on-task classroom behavior in lower-income children.