The Complexity of Motor Skills Could be Positively Associated With Cognitive Development in Zambian Preschool Children

Abstract

Higher motor competence and fundamental motor skill levels have been linked to stronger executive and attentional functions in early childhood. Still, this evidence base is drawn almost entirely from high-income, so-called WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic) settings. In sub-Saharan African contexts, developmental opportunities are often shaped instead by informal outdoor play, household activity, active commuting, and uneven access to structured physical education. Therefore, it is unclear whether motor–cognitive associations described in WEIRD samples extend to this setting in the sub-Saharan African children’s population. This exploratory cross-sectional study examined associations between motor performance and seven cognitive functions in 56 Zambian preschool children (mean age 4.80 ± 0.57 years; 22 boys, 34 girls) recruited from three government preschools in Lusaka. Motor performance was assessed with the Standing Long Jump, 4 × 5 m Shuttle Run, Lateral Jumps, Shifting Platforms, Right- and Left-Hand overarm throws, and the 20 m shuttle run(BEEP) test; cognition was assessed with the seven subtests of the Intelligence and Development Scales – Preschool (IDS-P). Linear regression models, stratified by age group (3–4.9 and 5–6.9 years) and adjusted for age and sex, identified six motor–cognitive associations that reached nominal significance, most consistently between faster Shuttle Run performance and higher Selective Attention scores in both age groups (older group: standardised β = −0.56, p = .003, R 2 = .37) and between Standing Long Jump and Visual Processing in the older group (β = 0.55, p = .003, R 2 = .32). None of these associations remained significant after false discovery rate (FDR) correction. The findings should be interpreted as preliminary, hypothesis-generating signals rather than confirmatory evidence of specific motor–cognitive pathways. Larger longitudinal and intervention studies that measure nutritional status, parental education, socioeconomic circumstances, home stimulation, habitual physical activity, sleep quality, and preschool context are needed in sub-Saharan African preschool populations.