Fundamental motor skills, nutritional status, perceived competence, and school performance of Brazilian children in social vulnerability: Gender comparison

Abstract Being at risk or in social vulnerability situations can affect important aspects of child development. The aim of this study was to investigate fundamental motor skills (locomotor and object control) and school (writing, arithmetic, reading) performances, the perceived competence and the nutritional status of girls and boys living in social vulnerability in the poorest regions of Brazil. Two hundred eleven (211) children (87 girls, 41%), 7–10-year-old (M = 8.3, SD = 0.9), from public schools in Ceara (Brazil), living in social vulnerability, participated in the study. Children were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development – 2, the Body Mass Index (BMI), the Self-Perception Profile for Children, and the School Performance Test. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), adjusted for age, did not show any significant effect for locomotion. There was an effect of gender on the object control. Boys showed higher scores in striking, kicking, throwing, and rolling a ball. Quade's nonparametric analysis showed no difference in BMI between the genders. Most children presented healthy weight. The MANCOVA showed no effect of gender on children’s scores on perceived competence on the subscales; moderate scores were found for most children. There were no gender effects on school performance; both boys and girls demonstrated inferior performance. Boys and girls in social vulnerability showed inferior performance in most motor skills, moderate perceived competence and inferior school performance. These results reveal that the appropriate development of these children is at risk and that intervention strategies should be implemented to compensate the difficulties presented.