The relationship between coordination abilities of adolescents and their motor activity

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PhD, Associate Professor E.V. Beznosyuk1
Dr. Hab., Professor N.A. Gluzman1
1V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol

Keywords: correlation analysis, physical activity, coordination abilities, adolescents aged 13-14

Research Objective
To identify the relationship between coordination abilities and physical activity levels in adolescents aged 13-14.

Methods and Research Design
A correlational study was conducted with adolescents from a physics and mathematics specialized school in Yevpatoria, Crimea. The sample included:

  • Group I: No extracurricular physical activity (n=51)
  • Group II: Moderate extracurricular activity (n=47)
  • Group III: High extracurricular activity (n=42)

Assessment Protocol:

  1. Coordination Tests:
    • Dynamic balance
    • Movement synchronization
    • Spatiotemporal differentiation
  2. Psychological Measures:
    • Anxiety levels (Spielberger scale)
    • Locus of control (Rotter's scale)
    • Stress markers (cortisol sampling)
  3. Statistical Analysis:
    • Pearson's χ² for categorical data
    • t-tests for intergroup comparisons (p<0.05 threshold)

Key Findings

  1. Psychological Benefits
    • Anxiety: Group III showed 21% lower scores (7.46) vs Group I (9.33) (t=9.04, p<0.001)
    • Locus Control: Group III scored 32% higher (8.62) than Group I (6.00) (t=6.51, p<0.01)
    • Stress Prevalence:
      • Group I: 73.53%
      • Group III: 26.19% (χ²=42.24, p<0.001)
  2. Coordination Abilities

Ability

Group I

Group III

Improvement

Dynamic Balance

4.2

6.8

+62%

Movement Sync

3.7

7.1

+92%

Spatial Differentiation

5.1

8.3

+63%
  1. Activity-Specific Gains
    • Cardio (running/swimming): +58% dynamic balance
    • BMX/Tennis: +79% spatiotemporal differentiation
    • Dance: +84% movement synchronization

Discussion
The study demonstrates a dose-response relationship between physical activity engagement and:

  1. Motor Skill Development: Regular activity enhances neural pathways for coordination.
  2. Psychological Resilience: Movement-based activities serve as somatic regulators for stress.

Conclusions

  1. Structured physical activity programs should prioritize:
    • Multidirectional movements (e.g., dance, martial arts)
    • Reactive training (e.g., ball sports)
  2. Schools should integrate coordination circuits into PE curricula 3x/week.

References (APA 7th Edition)

  1. Egorov, V. N., Gluzman, N. A., & Antipov, A. V. (2020). Fizicheskaya kultura v kontekste sovremennykh problem vysshego obrazovaniya [Physical education in context of current problems in higher education]. Teoriya i Praktika Fizicheskoi Kultury, 10, 52-54.