Introduction: Recent research shows a relation between motor skill performance and inhibitory control. As the current literature has not presented clarity on how these two skills relate, a need exists to further investigate this relation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to add clarity through examining the effect of challenge on this relation.Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to assess eighty-two typically developing five- and six-year-old children on two levels of motor and inhibitory control tasks (low challenge and high challenge). The sample was composed of two groups, 49 children from a suburban mid-Michigan school and 33 children from surrounding mid-Michigan communities. Demographic information (child’s birthdate, ethnicity, gender and parent education) was obtained via parent survey. Children’s height and weight were directly measured to determine body mass index (BMI). Two sets of instruments were used to measure motor and cognitive performance. The motor skill set included the TGMD-2 (Ulrich, 2000) to assess low-challenge skills and the KTK (Vandorpe et al., 2011) plus an obstacle course (Niederer et al., 2011) to assess high-challenge motor skills. The second set of skills were assessed using two inhibitory control tasks, the HTKS (McClelland & Cameron, 2011) to assess response inhibition (low-challenge) and the BST (Esposito et al., 2013) to assess interference control (high-challenge). Results: Pearson correlations showed the low challenge motor performance measures to be significantly related to the high challenge inhibitory control measures (r = .264 accuracy and .282 response time). Age was significantly related to the high challenge inhibitory control measures (r = .498 accuracy and r = .628 response time) and to the low challenge motor performance measures (r = .332). Multiple regression analyses showed age to be the strongest predictor of high challenge inhibitory control outcomes (accuracy and response time), in both low-challenge and high-challenge motor skills regressions.Conclusions: The role of challenge in the motor skill–inhibitory control relation was not supported. The low challenge motor performance was related to the high challenge inhibitory control measures, but disappeared once age was accounted for. Age played a prominent role in the prediction of inhibitory control outcomes. Along with maturational processes, the experiences of children from enriched environments may facilitate motor skill and inhibitory control development.
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