A comparison of the effects of health-related fitness and motor ability on adaptive behavior among adults with intellectual disabilities

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-23-2004

Abstract

Given the importance of adaptive behavior (AB) to independent functioning for persons with intellectual disabilities, a significant question for practitioners and scholars in physical activity is the effect of physical activity on AB. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to simultaneously test potential effects of health-related fitness (HRF) and motor ability (MA) components on AB. The participants were 64 community dwelling Finnish adults (27 males, 37 females; X̄age=36.5 years) with a moderate intellectual disability. HRF test items were adopted primarily from the Project Transition, while the MA components were assessed utilizing the measures of stork stand, heel-to-toe walking, and the Purdue Pegboard test. AB was assessed using a written questionnaire completed by caregivers. A structural equation modeling analysis revealed that the hypothesized model did not fit the sample data adequately. However, the analysis showed that MA was a stronger predictor of AB (γma ab=-0.74) than HRF (γhrf ab=0.07).

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Journal of Human Movement Studies

First Page

303

Last Page

326

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