Dr. Andrea Dincher
In this study, the relationship between motor abilities and physical self-concept in 32 primary school children (14 boys, 18 girls, average age 8.66 years) before and after five-week twice-weekly psychomotor exercise sessions is examined. German Motor Skills Test for Children and Adolescents from 6 to 18 years DMT 6-18 (Bös et al., 2009) and Questionnaire for the Measurement of Physical Self-Concept in Childhood PSK-K (Dreiskämper et al., 2015) are used. The control class receives no treatment. Means and standard deviations and Pearson correlations of Z-scores of the DMT 6-18 and the raw scores of the PSK-K. z according to Eid et al. (2011, p. 547f) for differences between the correlations. SPSS version 29. significance level p<.05. Results: Experimental class pretest: strength (r=.61**) and speed (r=.58*) significant, posttest: all except coordination (r=.46), highest for flexibility (r=.78***) and speed (r=.74***). Control class pretest: Flexibility significant (r=.68**), posttest: Flexibility (r=.63*), speed (r=.65**), endurance (r=.56*) and overall (r= .52*). Significant group differences in pretest for strength. Discussion: The correlations between motor abilities and physical self-concept are higher than expected (Dreiskämper et al., 2015). This could not only be due to the intervention, but also to a test effect (the test phases were only seven weeks apart). The control class may therefore also have been able to assess themselves better. Conclusion: After five weeks of psychomotor exercise sessions twice a week, the children were able to assess themselves better. The study should be repeated with more children over 12 weeks to eliminate the test effect.
