The synergistic effect of poor motor coordination, gender and age on self-concept in children: A longitudinal analysis.
Girls with motor coordination problems lose confidence in sports, body image, and school work faster than boys or typical peers.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Brown et al. (2020) tracked the same kids for several years. They looked at how clumsy movement, age, and being a girl or boy changed the way children saw themselves.
The group had kids with and without risk for developmental coordination disorder (rDCD).
What they found
Girls with rDCD felt worse about their athletic, physical, and school skills each year. The drop was steeper than for boys with rDCD and for typically developing peers.
Age made the gender gap bigger, not smaller.
How this fits with other research
Brabcová et al. (2015) saw the same academic self-concept slide in 8- to 11-year-olds who had epilepsy plus a learning disability. Both studies flag late elementary years as a danger zone for kids with any developmental delay.
Foti et al. (2015) meta-analysis showed kids with reading disabilities score far below peers on academic measures. Y et al. add movement problems to the list of hidden forces that chip away at school confidence.
Agiovlasitis et al. (2025) found girls score lower on ADOS-2 autism severity. Together these papers warn that standard tools and typical expectations may miss how girls with subtle disabilities feel inside.
Why it matters
When you see a girl with poor motor skills, check her self-concept early and often. Add strength-based goals in physical and academic tasks. Small wins can slow the downward slide Y et al. tracked. Share the data with teachers so they do not label quiet withdrawal as laziness.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Self-concept is a critical psychosocial outcome in childhood that is shaped by many factors. Gender, motor coordination and age have been identified as three important contributors. AIM: The present study examined whether poor motor coordination (i.e., being classified as at risk for Developmental Coordination Disorder [rDCD]), gender and age have a synergistic effect on domains of self-concept and self-worth in children. METHODS: Data were derived from the Physical Health and Activity Study Team longitudinal open cohort project. Children enrolled in grade 4 (Mage = 9.88 ± 0.35) at baseline (n = 1978) completed the Self-Perception Profile for Children 7 times over 4 years to evaluate their competence across multiple domains. The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency - Short Form was completed once to evaluate children's motor coordination. Participants scoring ≤15th percentile were classified as rDCD. RESULTS: A significant 3-way interaction between rDCD, gender and age was observed for athletic ability, physical appearance and academic competence, but not social competence, behavioural conduct or global self-worth. Findings revealed developmental trajectories for self-perceptions of athletic ability, physical appearance, and academic competence were lowest among rDCD girls. Boys classified as rDCD also demonstrated lower athletic, academic and physical self-perceptions in comparison to typically developing children. CONCLUSIONS: Age intensifies disparities in self held athletic, physical and academic perceptions attributable to differences in gender and rDCD status, however, differences in these domains appear to be independent of children's overall views of themselves.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2020 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103576