Abstract
The study came out of the hypothesis on contribution of attention to balance control and knowledge on importance of visual-spatial information for maintaining balance, especially in children. The aim of the study was to investigate whether association between a low level of balance ability and a decreased level of selective attention in prepubescents exists.
The group of children with the deficit balance (n=8; age 13.4+-1.4 yrs.) (BAL-) and without deficit balance (n=27; age 13.5+-1.6 yrs.) (BAL+) different from the results of the three balance tests within the MABC-2 test (Henderson et al.,2007) were tested for the different aspects of attention associated with perception and differentiation of visual stimuli by means of the test of attention d2. The BAL- a BAL+ groups did not differ in the variables which indicate the amount of attention - a total number of the processed signs (CP) and the total performance (CV) accounted as the difference CP and a number of the errors in perception of signs.
The significant inter-group differences were found for the variables which indicate the ability of visual differences and concentration of attention - performance of concentration (VS) (a number of signs found minus a number of confusion errors) (standard scores /SS/ 106.9+-16.5 vs. 96.6+-23.8, Cohen's d=0.58, p=0.083 in the t-test), and percentage of errors (SS 100.0+-12.2 vs. 96.9+-12.1, resp. 50th vs. 38th percentile). The study suggested that deficit balance performance of prepubescents can be associated with a below-average level of visual differentiation of stimuli and impaired concentration of attention rather than with the extent of exerted attention.