Development of posture & balance control: A comparison of African American and Caucasian American children
The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of 6-18 year old African American and Caucasian children on four different assessments of balance. Past research on balance control has suggested that the balance and postural control of children is similar to adults by about age 7. However, recent investigations suggest that even by age 10, childrens balance performance is not equal to adult levels. Yet recent studies have failed to incorporate data from prominent minority groups of American society. Motor development research has suggested that prominent minority groups, in particular African Americans, have consistently exhibited advancements in motor skill development. Thus, one of the two goals in this study is to investigate whether 6-18 year old African American children exhibit balance and postural control patterns more closely related to that of adults than their Caucasian counterparts. In this study approximately 25 African American and 25 Caucasian children between the ages of 6 and 18 will participate in assessments of postural sway, sensory organization, static stance and functional base of support.
School:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department:
Kinesiology
Research Advisor:
Karl Rosengren
Department of Research Advisor:
Kinesiology
Year of Publication:
2002