Gender Differences
Mann-Whitney U test was used to assess the existence of gender
differences in reflex inhibition. When comparing this variable in the
full sample, significant differences (p < 0.05) between
boys and girls were only found in the percentage of MR reflex
inhibition, with medium effect size (R = 0.2), boys scoring
higher than girls. When gender was examined within groups, significant
differences (p < 0.1) between boys and girls were also
found in the percentage of MR reflex inhibition in group A (Table 5),
with medium effect size (R = 0.2).
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Mann-Whitney U test was performed to compare boys and girls regarding
motor competence. In the full sample, significant gender differences
(p < 0.01) were found in all the instrument dimensions.
More specifically, in group A the data yielded gender differences in
aiming and catching, with a significance value of p = 0.043
(Table 5).
Finally, gender differences were observed in the crawling pattern
development. Only 19% of boys had developed the crawling pattern,
compared to 42.2% of girls. Mann-Whitney U test revealed significant
differences (p < 0.05) with small effect size (R
= 0.2). Within-group differences by gender were also analyzed, but no
significant results were obtained.