Page 12 - IJSA, Vol. 6, No 2, 2023

International Journal of Science Annals, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023
рrint ISSN: 2617-2682; online ISSN: 2707-3637; DOI:10.26697/ijsa

SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES. Education

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Prediction of Arithmetic Abilities of Children Who
Practice Sports: The Use of the Gamma Model

3 BDF
Authors’ Contribution: Serra L. 1,2 ABCDEF , Guerreiro C. , Silva L. 4 ADE
A – Study design; 1
B – Data collection; 2 Autonomous University of Lisbon, Portugal
C – Statistical analysis; 3 Centre of Statistics and its Applications of the University of Lisbon, Portugal
D – Data interpretation; Higher Institute of Intercultural and Transdisciplinary Studies of Almada –
E – Manuscript preparation; Piaget Institute of Almada, Portugal
4
F – Literature search; NOVA School of Science and Technology – NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal
G – Funds collection Received: 30.08.2023; Accepted: 27.09.2023; Published: 25.12.2023

Abstract
Background and The physical performance that children exhibit when engaging in sports or any
Aim of Study: form of physical activity will depend not only on their physical abilities but also
on their psychological and cognitive attributes.
The aim of the study: to analyze whether symptoms of anxiety, lie, attention, and
age are predictors of arithmetic abilities in children practicing sports.
Material and Methods: The study sample consisted of 108 children with an average age of 12.12 (±2.18)
who practice various sports, with greater emphasis on futsal and soccer. The study
protocol consisted of a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Revised Children’s
Manifest Anxiety Scale, the d2 Test of Attention, and the Arithmetic subtest of the
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children.
Results: The results showed that through the adjusted model, we identify four significant
explanatory variables that are predictors of arithmetic abilities, namely anxiety
symptoms (β=-0.009, p=0.009); and the attention sub-factors: processed
characters (β=0.002, p=3.44e-14), default errors (β=-0.005, p=0.000), errors by
marking irrelevant characters (β=-0.016, p=0.003).
Conclusions: The presence of anxiety symptoms and attentional cognitive abilities play a
significant role in predicting the arithmetic aptitudes of young individuals. These
variables should be taken into consideration within training programs for young
athletes, as they hold relevance for sports engagement.
Keywords: sports participants, anxiety, lie, attention, age, arithmetic skills
Copyright: © 2023 Serra L., Guerreiro C., Silva L. Published by Archives of International
Journal of Science Annals
DOI and UDC DOI https://doi.org/10.26697/ijsa.2023.2.1 UDC 37.037.1:786

Conflict of interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests
Peer review: Double-blind review
Source of support: This research did not receive any outside funding or support
Information about Serra Lidia (Corresponding Author) – https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2612-3335;
the authors: [email protected]; Doctor in Neuropsychology, Professor, Autonomous
University of Lisbon; Centre of Statistics and its Applications of the University of
Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
Guerreiro Cristiana – https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4820-6269; Master’s degree
in Clinical and Health Psychology, Higher Institute of Intercultural and
Transdisciplinary Studies of Almada – Piaget Institute of Almada, Almada,
Portugal.
Silva Luís – https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9811-0571; Doctor in Human Kinetics
– Motor Behavior, Investigator, NOVA School of Science and Technology – NOVA
University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal.

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