The role of the general motor factor in children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

This article is evaluating the motor functions of children with cerebral palsy. The objective of the study was to determine factors of motor development of children with cerebral palsy. The study was conducted on a sample of 80 children 6 to 16 years of age. Only children with cerebral palsy attending primary schools of equal educational standards were included in the study. Motor and rehabilitation components that best reflect their functional status. The results of the factor analysis revealed the principal factor – a latent dimension indicating the specificity of the structure of the motor abilities of the studied sample. One principal factor, defined as a general motor factor that hierarchically include motor skills and motor abilities, was distinguished by the factor analysis. The significant differences of the latent structures of motor skills in children with cerebral palsy were determined by the research, when broader neurological and rehabilitation factors are included in the motor component.

U radu se procenjuju motoričke sposobnosti dece sa cerebralnom paralizom. Cilj istraživanja je definisanje faktora motoričkog razvoja dece sa cerebralnom paralizom. Istraživanje je obuhvatilo 80-oro dece sa cerebralnom paralizom od 6 - 16 godina starosti. Obuhvaćena su samo deca koja su uključena u škole sa ravnopravnim edukacijskim standardom. Faktorskom analizom izdvojen je jedan glavni faktor, definisan kao generalni motorički faktor, koji hierarhijski obuhvata motoričke sposobnosti i motoričku spretnost. Istraživanjem su utvrđene značajne razlike latentnih struktura motoričkih sposobnosti kod dece sa cerebralnom paralizom, kada se u motoričku komponentu uključe širi neurološki i rehabilitacioni faktori.