Does Motor Skill Competence Influence Physical Activity Behavior? Focusing on Sport-Specific Skills

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

DOI

10.18122/ijpah.4.3.3.boisestate

Publication Title

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Volume

4

Issue

3

Pages

3

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the widely held belief that motor skill competence positively affects physical activity behavior (PA), considering the task-specific nature of motor skill competence and the context-specific nature of PA. Specifically, we examined the effects of students’ jump rope (JR) and basketball (BB) competence on their PA in six contexts. A total of 134 sixth grade students participated in this study. All variables were assessed using appropriate tools. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to address the research questions. Students’ JR competence did not significantly influence their PA in either JR-related or JR-unrelated contexts. Students’ BB competence (dribbling skill and perceived competence) significantly influenced their BB playing behavior during free time. The findings challenge the general assertion that motor skill competence positively influences PA and imply two possible boundaries of this theoretical proposition.

Rights

International Chinese Society for Physical Activities and Health © 2026

The following uses are always permitted to the authors and do not require further permission from ICSPAH provided the authors does/do not alter the format or content of the articles, including the copyright notification:

Original Publication Citation

Wang, Y., Han, Y., Li, P., & Zhang, B. (2025). Does motor skill competence influence physical activity behavior? Focusing on sport-specific skills. International Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 4(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.18122/ijpah.4.3.3.boisestate

ORCID

0009-0002-0955-7705 (Wang)

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