Relationship between Birth Weight and Perceptual Motor Performance in Children

Abstract

A perceptual-motor performance test (jumping, skipping, balancing, walking) was administered to 150 5- and 6-yr.-old children categorized according to birth weight. Differences were found among the three birth-weight groups, with the children of low birth weight scoring significantly lower than the groups of medium and high birth weight. A substantial positive correlation of .75 was obtained between birth weight and the perceptual-motor performance (total number of items passed).