Abstract

Associations between fundamental movement skills (FMS), perceived competence, enjoyment and physical activity (PA) have not been widely investigated among Chinese school children. We hypothesised that FMS would be directly related to self-reported and objectively measured PA, and indirectly related to these outcomes via perceived physical and movement skill competence, and enjoyment. Participants were 763 primary school children (age = 9.3 ± 1.7 years; 474 girls) across grades. FMS were measured for a subsample (n = 603) using Test of Gross Motor Development-2. PA using accelerometers was obtained from this subgroup (n = 238). All participating children completed a questionnaire measuring their PA participation, enjoyment, and perceived physical and movement skill competence. Structural equation modelling revealed positive associations between locomotor skills and perceived movement skill competence (β = .11, 95% CI [.001, .22]), and between perceived movement skill competence and objectively measured PA (β = .59, 95% CI [.04, 1.14]). Perceived physical competence and enjoyment mediated the association between locomotor skills and self-reported PA (β = .08, 95% CI [.02, .12]), but not objectively measured PA. Given inconsistent findings for subjective and objective measures of PA, further mediation analyses of the association between FMS and PA may be warranted.