Effect of curriculum-based physical education program on perceived motor competence and out-of-school healthy behaviors in adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and typically developing adolescents

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of a 12-week curriculum-based PE program on perceived motor competence, and out-of-school healthy behaviors in a group of 13 adolescent schoolchildren with ADHD (9 boys and 4 girls, 15 years old), compared to a group of 13 typically developing schoolchildren of the same age (9 boys and 4 girls, 15 years old).

Methods: The Spanish version of eight items to assess perceived motor competence from the Achievement Motivation for Learning in Physical Education Test, and the Spanish version of the Health Behavior in Schoolchildren Inventory were applied. The 12-week curriculum-based PE lessons, consisted of different curricular contents based on Decree 48/2015 from the Community of Madrid (Spain) such as fitness, athletics, basketball, foot orienteering, badminton, and gymnastics. All the instruments were applied before and after the 12-week PE lessons, to both groups of adolescent schoolchildren.

Results: The results showed that the adolescent schoolchildren with ADHD, before and after the PE program, obtained significantly lower values than their typically developing peers, in perceived motor competence, and out-of-school healthy behaviors. However, after 12 weeks of PE lessons, there was only a significant increase in perceived motor competence among typically developing children, and there was no significant difference in both groups, for out-of-school healthy behaviors.

Conclusions: At the end of this study, it can be concluded that the effect of curriculum-based PE program was not significant in children with ADHD on their perceived motor competence and out-of-school healthy behavior either.