Table 3.
Geographic location: differences in girls.
| Child Factors | Total Sample | Southern | Central | Northern | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall p-Value | n | Mean (SD) | Adj. Age | n | Mean (SD) | Adj. Age | n | Mean (SD) | Adj. Age | |
| LM skills (max.46p.) | 0.93 | 224 | 28.40 (7.81) |
28.99 | 163 | 29.47 (7.70) |
28.71 | 85 | 29.05 (7.87) |
28.93 |
| OC skills (max. 54p.) | 0.27 | 224 | 20.83 (7.75) |
21.48 | 163 | 24.23 (7.78) |
23.41 | 85 | 23.21 (7.80) |
23.08 |
| TGMD-3 total (max. 100p.) | 0.58 | 224 | 49.23 (13.96) |
50.48 | 163 | 53.71 (13.90) |
52.12 | 85 | 52.26 (14.25) |
52.00 |
| Time spent outdoors (scale 1–7) | 0.06 | 222 | 4.82 (1.15) |
4.83 1 | 162 | 5.14 (1.24) |
5.12 1 | 85 | 5.08 (1.15) |
5.08 |
| Participation in organised sports (mins/week) | 0.03 | 208 | 54.68 (63.05) |
56.98 1 | 160 | 38.23 (52.63) |
35.28 1 | 80 | 52.10 (62.85) |
51.82 |
Motor competence was measured using the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD)-3. Time spent outdoors and participation in organised sports were asked via parental questionnaire. The time spent outdoors was a sum from the time spent outdoors on weekdays and weekends. The scale for the weekdays ranged from 0 to 3 (0 = not at all, 1 = under 30 min/d, 2 = approximately 30–60 min/d and 3 = over 60 min/d), and the scale for the weekends ranged from 0 to 4 (0 = not at all, 1 = under 30 min/d, 2 = approximately 30–60 min/d, 3 = 1–2 h/d and 4 = over 2 h/d). Values are reported as mean and standard deviation (SD) scores. LM skills= locomotor skills, OC skills= object control skills. * Statistically significant difference (adjusted for age, random effect of childcare centre) between geographical locations groups at the level of p < 0.05. Statistically significant differences in bold. In time spent outdoors difference between Central and Southern: 1 p = 0.03 *. Participation in organised sports, difference between Southern and Central: 1 p = 0.012 *.