Relationship of visual, attentional and contextual variables together with internalized (depression), and externalized (behavior) problems

Abstract

Physical exercise as an educational formula improves the motor and cognitive learning of students, and allows us to strengthen the motor, coordinative and visual skills of the students, boys and girls, that will be decisive for their integral development. The general objective of the study is to examine the relationship of visual, attentional and contextual variables, together with internalized problems (depression), and externalized problems (behavior) in primary school students. 76 students participated in the study, of which 53 were boys (69.73%) and 23 girls (30.27%), with a mean age of 6.68 and a standard deviation of .799. The students participated in a multisport activity where three protocols were previously administered: an optometric evaluation, the Caras-R, Identical Forms-R and SENA to evaluate visual discrimination, sustained attention and contextual factors. The regressive models of the study predict, firstly, that better visual and attentional discrimination avoids depressive symptoms in students, and, secondly, that contextual factors act exclusively and directly in the face of depressive-type symptoms. The importance of the visual task as a variable directly related to depression and significantly together with attention in the prediction of adaptive behaviors stands out as a novelty. Thus, good visual discrimination is an important factor in sports practice and in the prevention of emotional and behavioral problems.