Relationships between maximum Hand Grip Strength and Motor Abilities in primary School Children

The aim of this study was to determine the structure of qualitative relationships between a test for assessing strength status and a battery of tests for assessing motor abilities in primary school children from rural areas. The research was conducted on a sample of 141 students from primary schools, from the first to the eighth grade, in Kušiljevo and Vraćevšnica (central Serbia). The tested sample included 27 girls and 33 boys (from the first to the fourth grade) and 42 girls and 39 boys (from the fifth to the eighth grade). The following variables were used for this research: age, maximum muscle strength of the dominant (FmaxD) and non-dominant hand grip (FmaxN), as well as the total sum (FmaxSUM), sit-and-reach test, standing long jump, sit-ups test, isometric chin-up, and 4x10m running test. Pearson correlation results showed that age correlates with the sit-and-reach (r=0.387, p=0.034), standing long jump (r=0.536, p=0.002), and 4×10 m running test (r=–0.561, p=0.001) in boys from the first to the fourth grade, and with the isometric chin-up test in girls (r=–0.402, p=0.042). Additionally, the absolute value of hand grip strength, regardless of whether it is the result of the dominant, non-dominant, or the sum of both hands, generally does not correlate with any test for assessing motor abilities in the tested sample, except for boys from the fifth to the eighth grade, where a statistically significant correlation was found with the standing long jump (FmaxD: r=0.479, p=0.002; FmaxN: r=0.454, p=0.004; FmaxSUM: r=0.471, p=0.002). When age was controlled through partial correlation analysis, significant relationships between hand grip strength and standing long jump remained only in boys from the fifth to the eighth grade (FmaxD: r=0.459, p=0.004; FmaxN: r=0.425, p=0.009; FmaxSUM: r=0.447, p=0.006). In addition, a significant negative correlation was found between FmaxN and sit-ups in boys from grades 1–4 (r=–0.401, p=0.031), and between FmaxD and 4×10 m running in boys from grades 5–8 (r=–0.331, p=0.046).Since the hand grip strength test is a standardized test for assessing overall body strength, it can be concluded that the standard battery of tests does not cover the entire range of physical, i.e., motor abilities. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that the hand grip strength test can be recommended as an addition to testing physical, i.e., motor abilities in primary schools, as a proven and simple screening test for assessing overall body strength.