engleski

Manifestation of differences in temperament of preschool children in correlation with the engagement in physical activity in leisure time

Temperament is one of the personality aspects which involve expressing emotions and reactions to stimuli in the immediate surroundings. It describes a person’s behavioural style ; not what the person does but how he or she does something. It is determined at birth ; however, it can be modified by learning. Environmental factors may have an impact on the development of temperament. The existing research has given contrasting results ; on the one side the low level on the activity scale in early childhood presents a risk factor for low physical activity in late childhood and adolescence and contrary to this, the dimensions of temperament are not relevant for the prediction of the level of physical activity or the overall sedentary time in children. Children have an innate need for movement as a form of physical activity (PA) and children are constantly in motion. The aim of this research is to determine whether there are differences in temperament between children engaged in organized physical activity in leisure time (OPA LT) and children who are not engaged in this type of activity. Croatian version of EASI questionnaire was used in order to assess children temperaments. The convenient sample consisted of 50 girls and 51 boys age 6 and 7. The results show that there exist statistically relevant differences between children engaged in OPA LT and those who are not engaged in this type of activity. Among boys this difference is shown in the particle related to activity while among girls it is shown in particles related to all dimensions of temperament. Boys who do not practice OPA LT prefer more tranquil games. Girls who do not practice OPA LT are more easily prone to tears, easily scared, tend to be more irritable, more shy and prefer less demanding games ; they are also more impulsive and tend to get more easily bored when practicing PA. Girls who practice OPA LT are constantly in motion, they like to go out and they like to run as soon as they wake up in the morning and they also like to be in company during engagement in PA.

preschoolers ; differences ; temperament ; physical activity

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