Associations Between Gross and Fine Motor Skills and Executive Function in Malaysian Preschool Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background/Objectives: Relationships between motor skills and executive functions in diverse preschool populations remain unclear. This study examined associations of gross and fine motor scores with inhibitory control and visuospatial working memory in Malaysian preschool children. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 130 children from 24 preschools (70 boys and 60 girls; mean age of 52.63 months). Researchers administered the motor sections of the 48-month Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition (ASQ-3), and Early Years Toolbox tasks. Mixed models included both motor domains, age, sex, and residence and a preschool random intercept, using Satterthwaite degrees of freedom. Standard Mr Ant points were the primary working-memory outcome. False-discovery-rate correction covered four primary motor coefficients. Results: A 10-point higher fine motor score was associated with a 0.0531 higher inhibitory-control score (95%CI, 0.0242–0.0820; p < 0.001; q = 0.002), with an approximately 0.23 outcome SD. The corresponding gross-motor coefficient was not significant. Using parent-questionnaire date as proxy for motor-assessment date, 61 children were within the ASQ-3 age interval. In this subgroup, the fine motor coefficient was similar but did not remain significant after correction (B per 10 points = 0.0545; 95%CI, 0.0080–0.1009; p = 0.022; q = 0.090). Neither working-memory coefficient remained significant after correction. Fine-versus-gross coefficient contrast for inhibitory control was not significant (p = 0.180). Conclusions: Fine motor scores were positively associated with inhibitory control in the full sample, but the age-compatible finding was inconclusive after correction. Cross-sectional design and measurement constraints limit interpretation. Despite these limitations, the findings support further research on motor skills and executive function in Malaysian preschool children using age-appropriate measures and longitudinal designs.