Faber Leila, Hartman Esther, Houwen Suzanne, Schoemaker Marina M
Department of Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands.
Inclusive and Special Needs Education Unit, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 Apr 8;15(4):489. doi: 10.3390/bs15040489.
This study examined age-related changes in qualitative paper-cutting performance of typically developing children aged 5 to 10 years. Using the Hands-On! observation tool, we analysed 178 (85 boys; Mage 8.06 years, SD ± 1.58) children's performance on the DCDDaily paper cutting task. Paper cutting involves several intra-task components, such as grip type and cutting movements, each comprising multiple observable actions that reflect a child's qualitative performance (e.g., small or large cutting movements). We assessed the differences in the occurrence of these actions within each intra-task component across age groups, along with task duration and mistakes. Our findings revealed significant age-related differences in the qualitative performance of multiple actions within the intra-task components. Three distinct developmental patterns emerged: progression, variability in progression, and stability. Notably, these qualitative differences were observed even when quantitative measures, such as duration and mistakes, showed ceiling effects, highlighting the ability of qualitative assessments to capture nuanced developmental changes. This study provides valuable insights into the development of paper-cutting skills, emphasising the importance of incorporating qualitative analysis into motor skill assessments. Future research should explore the qualitative performance of children with both typical and atypical motor development to further understand the complex interplay of factors influencing fine motor skill performance.
本研究考察了5至10岁发育正常儿童剪纸操作能力的年龄相关变化。使用“动手做！”观察工具，我们分析了178名儿童（85名男孩；平均年龄8.06岁，标准差±1.58）在《发育协调障碍日常剪纸任务》中的表现。剪纸涉及多个任务内组成部分，如握法和切割动作，每个部分都包含多个可观察到的动作，这些动作反映了儿童的操作能力（如切割动作大小）。我们评估了各年龄组在每个任务内组成部分中这些动作的出现差异，以及任务时长和失误情况。我们的研究结果显示，任务内组成部分中多个动作的操作能力存在显著的年龄相关差异。出现了三种不同的发展模式：进步、进步中的变异性和稳定性。值得注意的是，即使在时长和失误等量化指标显示出上限效应时，仍观察到了这些质性差异，这凸显了质性评估捕捉细微发展变化的能力。本研究为剪纸技能的发展提供了有价值的见解，强调了将质性分析纳入运动技能评估的重要性。未来的研究应探讨发育正常和发育异常儿童的操作能力，以进一步了解影响精细运动技能表现的因素之间的复杂相互作用。
