The Impact of Parental Socioeconomic Status and Physical Activity on Motor Competence of Children with ADHD

Background: Previous studies have shown that parental socioeconomic status directly affects the participation of children in physical activities and consequently the improvement in their motor competencies. Nevertheless, this issue has been less studied in children with ADHD. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the associations between parental socioeconomic status and motor competence considering physical activity as a mediator. Methods: The present study followed a descriptive-correlational approach using structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population of the study included 86 male students diagnosed with ADHD (mean age of 8.36±1.07) who attended in a special school in Tehran. Short-Form Bruininks-Oseretsky Battery, Parental Socioeconomic Status Scale, and Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children were used for data collection. Pearson correlation test and structural equation modelling were used for investigating the relationships between the research variables. Results: The mean BMI of the participants was 16.9±1.84, placing the BMI-for-age at the 70-percentile indicating that they have healthy weights. Children in this study were in the lower-average level of motor competence (e.g., balance, upper limb coordination, and strength), their parents were mostly at medium level of socioeconomic status, and the physical activity level of the children was lower than average (M=2.23). In addition, parental socioeconomic status positively affected motor competence (T=6.862) and physical activity (T=5.151), and physical activity positively impacted motor competence (T=5.593). Conclusion: Low amounts of physical activity in our sample make it necessary to find out appropriate factors and strategies to enhance it in children with ADHD. According to our findings, education and income of parents along with the children’s participation in physical activity may be critical concerns for their health

The Effect of 8 Weeks Shallow and Deep Water Exercises on Static Balance and Dynamic Balance of Elderly Women

سابقه و هدف: سالمندی پدیده‌ای بیولوژیکی است که در نحوه‌ی زیست‌ارگانیزم و وضعیت روانی، اجتماعی فرد در طول زمان ظاهر می‌شود؛ لذا توجه به مسائل و نیازهای این مرحله از زندگی، یک ضرورت اجتماعی است. هدف از تحقیق حاضر تأثیر 8 هفته تمرین درمانی در آب در دو عمق مختلف بر تعادل ایستا و پویا در زنان سالمند بود. روش کار: روش انجام تحقیق نیمه تجربی بود. از این رو از بین زنان سالمند منطقه 1 تهران 45 نفر انتخاب شدند، که پس از گرفتن پیش‌­آزمون در متغیرهای تعادل ایستا و تعادل پویا افراد به صورت تصادفی به سه گروه تمرینات در قسمت عمیق (15 نفر)، تمرینات در قسمت کم‌­عمق (15 نفر) و یک گروه کنترل (15 نفر) تقسیم شدند. بعد از تقسیم افراد در گروه­‌های مربوطه، افراد شرکت‌­کننده در گروه‌­های تجربی به مدت 8 هفته به انجام تمرینات مربوطه پرداخته و در انتها دوباره از همه افراد پس­‌آزمون به عمل آمد. داده­‌های پژوهش به وسیله آزمون t زوجی و آزمون تحلیل کوواریانس مورد تجزیه و تحلیل آماری قرار گرفت. یافته­‌ها: نتایج تحقیق نشان داد پس از انجام مداخلات تمرین درمانی در آب، تعادل ایستا و پویا در دو گروه مداخله‌ای بهبود معنی­‌داری ایجاد شد. اما هیچگونه تفاوت معنی‌­داری در تعادل ایستا و پویا گروه کنترل مشاهده نشد. یافته‌­های تحقیق حاضر همچنین نشان داد که بین دو گروه تمرینات درمانی در آب عمیق و کم‌عمق، تفاوت معنی‌­داری در تعادل ایستا و پویا وجود ندارد و هر دو گروه به یک اندازه باعث بهبود تعادل ایستا و پویا در زنان سالمند شدند. نتیجه‌­گیری: با توجه به نتایج به دست آمده، می‌­توان تمرین درمانی در آب را به عنوان یکی از روش­های بهبود در تعادل ایستا و پویا در افراد سالمند در نظر گرفت.Background and aim: Aging is a biological phenomenon that manifests in the way of organism lives and its psychological, social status over time; therefore, paying attention to the needs of this stage of life is a social necessity. The goal of this research was to evaluate the effect of the 8-week exercise therapy in water in two different depths on static and dynamic balance in elderly women. Methods: The research was semi-experimental. Forty-five elderly women were selected from district 1 of Tehran, who after taking a pre-test in static and dynamic balance variables were randomly divided into three groups of exercises in the deep part (N=15), exercises in the shallow part (N=15), and a control group (N=15). After dividing the subjects into relevant groups, the participants performed the relevant exercises for 8 weeks, and at the end, all subjects underwent post-test experiments. The research data were statistically analyzed by the paired (t) test and the covariance analysis test. Results: The results showed that after doing exercise therapy interventions in water, there was a significant improvement in static and dynamic balance in the two intervention groups in comparison to the control group (P<0.05). Also, there was no significant difference in the static and dynamic balance between the two exercise therapies in deep and shallow water (P>0.05), and both groups equally improved static and dynamic balance in elderly women. Conclusion: According to the obtained results, exercise therapy in water can be considered as one of the methods to improve static and dynamic balance in the elderly