Association of motor skill competence, motivation, and physical activity among Chinese children aged 10–12 years

Physical activity (PA) in children is affected by physical and psychological factors. Exploring its characteristics and determinants is critical to promoting children's PA participation. Existing empirical evidence is largely drawn from Western cultural contexts, and cultural divergences create uncertainty regarding whether these established associations generalize to Chinese children. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationships motor skill competence (MSC), motivation, and PA among Chinese children. Participants were 177 fourth to six-grade students (76 boys vs. 101 girls; mean age = 10.94 years old; SD = 0.79) at two elementary school students from the province of Hunan in China. The students' MSC, motivation and PA were measured using the Test of Gross Motor Development-Third Edition (TGMD-3), the Perceived Locus of Causality scale, and the PA Questionnaire for Older Children respectively. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, Pearson's correlation and linear regression models. Boys scored significantly higher than girls on ball skills and PA. Pearson's correlation revealed that children's autonomous motivation and controlled motivation were positively related to PA (r = 0.313, ρ < 0.01; r = 0.259, ρ < 0.05). Children's MSC were not associated with motivation (ρ > 0.05). The result of linear regression models showed that MSC, autonomous motivation and controlled motivation were significantly associated with PA (F (3, 171) = 10.565, ρ < 0.01). Chinese children's MSC was not associated with motivaiton. Physical education teachers should target the enhancement of both MSC and motivation as it is an effective strategy for promoting higher levels of PA among children.