Skill-related physical fitness versus aerobic fitness as a predictor of executive functioning in children with intellectual disabilities or borderline intellectual functioning
Section snippets
What this paper adds?
For the first time aerobic fitness and skill-related physical fitness were examined simultaneously in relationship with a wide range of EF domains (inhibition, cognitive flexibility, working memory and planning) in 8–11- year old children with ID or BIF. In this longitudinal study, the children were measured annually over a period of 4 years. Multilevel models were used in order to give insight into possible developmental changes per EF measure with increasing age. Next, multilevel modelling
Participants
Seventy-three children (IQ M = 70.8, range 56–79; 51 boys) from a primary special-needs school located in the northern regions of the Netherlands participated in a longitudinal study. In the year of enrolment, the age range of the children was 8–11 years (M = 9.26; SD = 1.04). Twenty-eight children with mild intellectual functioning (ID; 20 boys and 8 girls; IQ range 56–70) and forty-five children with borderline intellectual functioning (BIF; 31 boys and 14 girls; IQ range 71–79) were identified. IQ
Descriptives and developmental changes per EF measure
In Table 1, the descriptives of aerobic physical fitness, skill-related physical fitness, and EF of the children in the year of enrolment are shown.
In Fig. 1, Fig. 2, the developmental changes per EF measure are presented. The models were not influenced by age2, so this variable was not included in the final models. The inhibition model showed a statistically significant decrease over time (i.e. better performance) of the 12-year-old children compared to the 10-year-old children. The model was
Discussion
Relationships between aerobic physical fitness with EF have been studied frequently in primary school children, and the possible association between skill-related physical fitness and EF has received more attention in the past few years. For the first time aerobic fitness and skill-related physical fitness were examined simultaneously in relationship with EF in children with ID or BIF, which provides more insight into the unique contribution of these factors on the level of EF.
The current study
Conclusions
A unique relationship exists between skill-related physical fitness and inhibition and cognitive flexibility in 8- to 11- year old children with ID or BIF. The data suggest that in these children skill-related physical fitness is of greater importance in relationship with core domains of EF than aerobic fitness. The results support the learning and developmental hypothesis. The results are important as children with ID or BIF are a vulnerable population regarding both physical fitness as well
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the teachers from the schools, and the children who participated in this study.
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