Relationship of motor competence with parental factors, physical activity and temperament in children –A systematic review

Abstract

This systematic review analyzes the relationship between actual and perceived motor competence, parental factors, physical activity, and temperament in preschoolers and school-aged children with typical development. A search for articles published between 1995 and 2025 was conducted on August 13, 2024, and repeated on January 31, 2025, to update the review, across PubMed, ScienceDirect, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, and Education Resources Information Center. Out of 2233 articles, 24 met the inclusion criteria. The results regarding preschoolers, showed inconsistencies between variables. For school-aged children, actual motor competence was positively correlated with physical activity, and perceived motor competence also showed a positive association with physical activity. Additionally, a strong positive association was observed between actual and perceived motor competence. No relationships were observed between motor competence and temperament, nor were parental factors. Understanding how individual and contextual factors relate to motor competence offers valuable insight into early motor development and highlights directions for future research