Characteristics of Highly and Poorly Co-ordinated Children

Abstract

Univariate and multivariate procedures were employed to test the significance of hypothesized mean differences on cognitive, personality, physical, and social measures between highly and poorly co-ordinated normal fifth-class boys. The upper and lower 30% of 112 males were selected for the study on the basis of averaged T scores for two co-ordination tests, lateral moving and monopedal hopping. Discriminant analysis found the variables of intelligence, shrewdness, extraversion, and self-assurance to produce significant (p < 0.001) group separation with 84% correct classification overall. In exploratory t-test analyses no significant differences were found between the groups in multidimensional motivation, SES, social adjustment, age, height, or weight. Implications for teaching were discussed.