Article

Mastery motivation is a precursor of future developmental outcomes.
Evidence about whether toddlers with motor delay have lower mastery motivation is
inconclusive.
The purpose of this study was to examine differences
between mental age-matched toddlers with and without motor delay on various
mastery motivation indicators. DESIGN: A mental age- and sex-matched case-control
study was performed. METHODS: Twenty-two children with motor delay, aged 23 to 47
months, and 22 children who were developing typically, aged 15 to 29 months, were
recruited. Persistence and mastery pleasure were measured with behavioral tasks
that were moderately challenging for each child and with maternal ratings using
the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ). The DMQ was rated by each child's
mother based on her perception of her child's motivation. Two types of structured
tasks (a puzzle and a cause-effect toy selected to be moderately challenging for
each child) were administered in a laboratory setting and recorded on videos.
Paired t tests or Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to examine group
differences in persistence and mastery pleasure (alpha=.007, 2-tailed). RESULTS:
Children with motor delay were rated lower on DMQ persistence than the typically
developing group, but they did not show significantly lower persistence on the
structured tasks. There were no significant differences in mastery pleasure
between the 2 groups on either measure. LIMITATIONS: Large within-sample
variability on the tasks and small sample size makes subgroup analysis (eg,
different severities) difficult. CONCLUSIONS: Toddlers with motor delay did not
show lower persistence and pleasure when given tasks that were moderately
challenging; however, their mothers tended to view them as having lower
motivation. Clinicians and parents should provide appropriately challenging tasks
to increase children's success and motivation.

Langue : ANGLAIS