Peer-reviewed article
Structured sport and executive functions in Moroccan children: a seven-indicator analysis comparing soccer, taekwondo, and non-athletes.
Kaddouri H, Zerouali S, Bouayad M, Tkhirfah H, El-Kamia A et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study compared executive function abilities in 120 Moroccan boys aged 8-12 years who played soccer, practiced taekwondo, or did no structured sport. Children in both sports groups showed better inhibition accuracy and cognitive flexibility than non-athletes, performing more slowly but with fewer errors. The two sports groups performed similarly on most measures, suggesting that structured sport participation generally supports executive function development rather than specific skills varying by sport type.
Key points
- Athletes showed significantly better inhibition accuracy and cognitive flexibility compared to non-athletes
- Soccer and taekwondo practitioners had equivalent executive function profiles on six of seven indicators
- Athletes displayed a speed-accuracy trade-off: slower responses but significantly fewer errors
- Sport participation explained 23.2% of unique variance in inhibition accuracy beyond age
- Executive-demanding processes showed associations with sport, but passive storage did not
Limitations
The cross-sectional design prevents causal conclusions about whether sport participation improves executive function or whether children with better executive function select into sports. The study only included boys aged 8-12 in Morocco, limiting generalizability to girls and other age groups or regions.
Abstract
This cross-sectional study examined whether structured sport participation is selectively associated with specific executive function (EF) components in preadolescent children. Participants were 120 Moroccan boys aged 8-12 years: soccer players (n = 30), taekwondo practitioners (n = 30), and non-athletes (n = 60). Seven EF indicators were analyzed separately (verbal and spatial updating, inhibitory control speed and accuracy, cognitive flexibility, and verbal and spatial storage) using culturally adapted neuropsychological instruments administered in Moroccan Arabic. ANCOVAs controlling for age revealed significant group differences in inhibition accuracy (η2p = .233), cognitive flexibility (η2p = .114), and both updating indicators (η2p = .074-.081), but not in passive storage (η2p < .03). A speed - accuracy trade-off emerged: athletes responded more slowly but committed significantly fewer Stroop errors. Soccer and taekwondo groups showed equivalent EF profiles on six of seven indicators, challenging the open-versus-closed-skill specificity hypothesis and consistent with a cognitive engagement account. Sport group explained 23.2% unique variance in inhibition accuracy beyond age. These findings indicate selective associations between structured sport and executive-demanding processes, not passive storage, and carry implications for neuropsychological assessment in sport-participating children. The cross-sectional design precludes causal inference; longitudinal and experimental research is needed.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Structured sport participation (soccer or taekwondo) compared to no structured sport
- Population
- 120 Moroccan boys aged 8-12 years (30 soccer players, 30 taekwondo practitioners, 60 non-athletes)
Key finding
Inhibition accuracy showed significant group differences (η2p = .233), with athletes committing significantly fewer Stroop errors