A modelação do desenvolvimento a partir da análise de trajetórias latentes. Um estudo aplicado às aptidões motoras

Abstract

This paper aims at the discussion of the idea of the development of motor abilities, specially the need for its quantitative analysis with new methodologies. An emphasis is made upon different developmental trajectories of children and youth. Limited conceptual and analytical approaches used by sport scientists are critically reviewed and a new analytical strategy is presented to study intra-indi- vidual change within interindividual differences in their development pathways. This new methodology - latent trajectory analysis - is briefly presented and applied to an empirical problem, showing its richness to study normative and differential developmental problems related to motor abilities and motor skills in children and youth. This methodology tries to analyse, simultaneously, the views of normative and differential developmentalists since it deals with the individual subject and the group, the mean changes over time and the differences among subjects. It allows, also, the inclusion of predictors of change that govern the individual developmental trajectories.