The Role of Motor Skills in the Sociometric Status and Perceived Social Status of Schoolchildren

Abstract

Children with better motor skills tend to develop more positive peer relationships. However, there is little information about the relationship between motor skills and the five sociometric status groups, as well as how much it interferes with self-perception of social status.

Objective: To analyze the association of low motor skills with sociometric status and perceived social status in students aged 7 to 10 years.

Subjects and Method: Cross-sectional, descriptive study with convenience sampling. Participated in the study children in public schools from Florianopolis, Brazil. Children with disabilities and those who changed schools during the school year were excluded. Motor skills were evaluated by the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2), validated for this population. Movement skills were considered low when they were below the 15th percentile. Sociometric Status was assessed using the Subjective Scale of Social Status in the Classroom, according to the sociometric method, and the Perceived Social Status by the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status, classifying children into five groups. Multinominal logistic regression analysis was performed.

Results: 439 children participated (242 girls and 197 boys), with a median age of 8.94 ± 1.03. Participants classified as rejected, neglected, and controversial, regarding sociometric status, were 5.01, 2.40, and 2.86, respectively, more likely to present low motor skills when compared with the average group. Regarding perceived social status, there were no significant differences.

Conclusion: The difficulties found in children with low motor skills go beyond the motor domain, extending to social relationships.