Perceptualand Motor Skills, 1990, 70, 361-362.
O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1990
INFLUENCE OFAGE, SEX, HEARING LOSS, AND BALANCE O N DEVELOPMENT O F SIDEARM STRIKING BY DEAF CHILDREN ' STEPHEN A. BUTTERFIELD University of Maine Summary.-131 deaf boys and girls were evaluated on development of the sidearm striking pattern. Mature form in this skiU was related to chronological age and to proficiency in balance. Sex and hearing loss do not appear to i d u e n c e development of this skill. Striking refers to a generic category of movements including overhand, sidearm, and underhand patterns that occur in several planes and can involve a number of implements and body parts (11). Because the sidearm-striking pattern is so commonly used in our culture, it was the focus of this study. Children's early attempts to use this pattern are often initiated by arm action which is followed by limited block-rotation of the trunk and pelvis. Gradually, this arm-dominated pattern is replaced by a striking motion consisting of a forward weight shift, greater range of joint action, and increasing separation of the rotary segments of the pelvis and trunk (8). Previous investigations on fundamental motor skills of deaf children have reported delayed development. For example, Butterfield (2) found delays in kicking, jumping, catching, and hopping among deaf children but age-expected development in running, throwing, striking and slupp~ng.Dummer, Haubenstricker, and Stewart (7) reported delays by deaf children in several fundamental motor skills including stationary bounce, catch, kick, overhand throw, and twohand strike. Previous investigations also identified factors which contribute to development of mature form in fundamental motor skills by deaf children. Most frequently reported were age and balance ability (3, 4, 5, 6). Other factors believed to influence motor development are extent of hearing loss and sex. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of age, sex, hearing loss, static balance, and dynamic balance on the development of mature striking form by deaf children. Participants were 75 boys and 56 girls. One hundred twenty-four (95%) had a hearing loss of at least 60 dB in the better ear. Hearing loss for the other seven children ranged from 30 dB to 55 dB. To assess development of striking, each child was individually administered the Ohio State University Scale of IntraGross Motor Assessment (OSU-SIGMA) (10). Static and dynamic balance were measured by Items 2 and 7 of Subtest 2 of the Short Form of the BruininksOseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (1). AU children were individually assessed by the principal investigator. His reliability as determined by percent of interobserver agreement was .96 on the OSU-SIGMA at the time of testing. Test instructions were presented according to the communication philosophy at the children's respective schools. The following modes of communication were used: oral method, Rochester method, and Total communication (signing exact English). The principal investigator has had eight years experience teaching physical education in a residential school for the deaf. Scores were subjected to linear discriminant analysis (9) in which five predictor variables (age in months, sex, hearing loss in decibels, static balance in seconds, and dynamic balance in heel-to-toe steps) were correlated with level of development of striking (Levels 1, 2, 3, 4; OSU-SIGMA), the criterion variable. Means and standard deviations for the five predictor vari'Address correspondence to S. A. Butterfield, Division of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, University of Maine, Lengyel Hall, Orono, ME 04469.
362
S. A. BUTTERFIELD
ables and number of subjects performing at each level appear in Table 1. Structure coefficients were interpreted for significant discriminant functions. Only structure coefficients greater than .30 were interpreted. TABLE 1 MFANSAND STANDARD DEVIATIONS FORAGE, SEX, DEGREEOF HEARINGLOSS I N DECIBELS, STATICBALANCE AND DYNAMIC BALANCE BY LEVEL OF STRIKNG DEPARTMENT Level
n
Age, mo.
2
2
M SD
3
13
M
4
116
M SD
Total
131
M
SD
SD
Sex: 0, boy 1, girl
Hearing Loss, dB
Static Balance, sec.
Dynamic Balance, steps
43.00 1.41 90.30 41.21 119.68 36.25 115.60 38.46
The result for striking was significant for the first function (Wilks lambda = ,851, p
O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1990
INFLUENCE OFAGE, SEX, HEARING LOSS, AND BALANCE O N DEVELOPMENT O F SIDEARM STRIKING BY DEAF CHILDREN ' STEPHEN A. BUTTERFIELD University of Maine Summary.-131 deaf boys and girls were evaluated on development of the sidearm striking pattern. Mature form in this skiU was related to chronological age and to proficiency in balance. Sex and hearing loss do not appear to i d u e n c e development of this skill. Striking refers to a generic category of movements including overhand, sidearm, and underhand patterns that occur in several planes and can involve a number of implements and body parts (11). Because the sidearm-striking pattern is so commonly used in our culture, it was the focus of this study. Children's early attempts to use this pattern are often initiated by arm action which is followed by limited block-rotation of the trunk and pelvis. Gradually, this arm-dominated pattern is replaced by a striking motion consisting of a forward weight shift, greater range of joint action, and increasing separation of the rotary segments of the pelvis and trunk (8). Previous investigations on fundamental motor skills of deaf children have reported delayed development. For example, Butterfield (2) found delays in kicking, jumping, catching, and hopping among deaf children but age-expected development in running, throwing, striking and slupp~ng.Dummer, Haubenstricker, and Stewart (7) reported delays by deaf children in several fundamental motor skills including stationary bounce, catch, kick, overhand throw, and twohand strike. Previous investigations also identified factors which contribute to development of mature form in fundamental motor skills by deaf children. Most frequently reported were age and balance ability (3, 4, 5, 6). Other factors believed to influence motor development are extent of hearing loss and sex. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of age, sex, hearing loss, static balance, and dynamic balance on the development of mature striking form by deaf children. Participants were 75 boys and 56 girls. One hundred twenty-four (95%) had a hearing loss of at least 60 dB in the better ear. Hearing loss for the other seven children ranged from 30 dB to 55 dB. To assess development of striking, each child was individually administered the Ohio State University Scale of IntraGross Motor Assessment (OSU-SIGMA) (10). Static and dynamic balance were measured by Items 2 and 7 of Subtest 2 of the Short Form of the BruininksOseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (1). AU children were individually assessed by the principal investigator. His reliability as determined by percent of interobserver agreement was .96 on the OSU-SIGMA at the time of testing. Test instructions were presented according to the communication philosophy at the children's respective schools. The following modes of communication were used: oral method, Rochester method, and Total communication (signing exact English). The principal investigator has had eight years experience teaching physical education in a residential school for the deaf. Scores were subjected to linear discriminant analysis (9) in which five predictor variables (age in months, sex, hearing loss in decibels, static balance in seconds, and dynamic balance in heel-to-toe steps) were correlated with level of development of striking (Levels 1, 2, 3, 4; OSU-SIGMA), the criterion variable. Means and standard deviations for the five predictor vari'Address correspondence to S. A. Butterfield, Division of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, University of Maine, Lengyel Hall, Orono, ME 04469.
362
S. A. BUTTERFIELD
ables and number of subjects performing at each level appear in Table 1. Structure coefficients were interpreted for significant discriminant functions. Only structure coefficients greater than .30 were interpreted. TABLE 1 MFANSAND STANDARD DEVIATIONS FORAGE, SEX, DEGREEOF HEARINGLOSS I N DECIBELS, STATICBALANCE AND DYNAMIC BALANCE BY LEVEL OF STRIKNG DEPARTMENT Level
n
Age, mo.
2
2
M SD
3
13
M
4
116
M SD
Total
131
M
SD
SD
Sex: 0, boy 1, girl
Hearing Loss, dB
Static Balance, sec.
Dynamic Balance, steps
43.00 1.41 90.30 41.21 119.68 36.25 115.60 38.46
The result for striking was significant for the first function (Wilks lambda = ,851, p
