Exploring Correlates of Preschool-Aged Children’s Locomotor Skills: Individual and Parent Demographics and Home Environment

2020 ◽  
pp. 003151252098093
Author(s):  
Jacob Szeszulski ◽  
Elizabeth Lorenzo ◽  
Teresia O’Connor ◽  
Jennie L. Hill ◽  
Gabriel Q. Shaibi ◽  
...  

We examined individual and parental demographics and home environment factors associated with locomotor skills in predominantly Hispanic preschool-aged children. We used questionnaires to survey parents, included inquiries regarding parenting practices, parents’ physical activity levels, and home-based physical activity resources; and we administered the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) and the CHAMPS Motor Skills Protocol (CMSP) to children to measure the quantity and quality of their locomotor skills. Participants were 144 parents and their children (78.9% Hispanic, 49.3% girls) recruited from urban, community-based childcare and education centers. We examined the relationship between survey measures and PACER and CMSP scores with forward-selection stepwise linear regression models. Overall, 142 children completed the PACER, and 91 completed the CMSP. At the individual level, a child’s age was positively associated with both PACER and CMSP scores, and girls had lower PACER scores than boys. In the home environment, parental promotion of more screen time was associated with a higher children’s PACER score. In addition, higher parent concern for children’s safety was associated with a lower PACER score. We identified several physical activity promoting parent practices as new home environment factors related to the preschool-aged children’s locomotor development. Additional studies are needed to test new hypotheses generated from these data. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03261492 (date of registration 8/25/17)

Author(s):  
Caroline Cummings ◽  
Amy Hughes Lansing

Abstract Background Greater overall positive emotion has been linked with increased physical activity and overeating. High approach positive emotions (HAPEs), a subtype of positive emotion, are theorized to facilitate this goal-driven behavior. However, the day-to-day associations of HAPE and physical activity and overeating, including both at the individual level and within caregiver–adolescent dyads, remain unknown. Purpose We examined the independent and dyadic associations between HAPE (positive emotions that occur pregoal and motivate individuals toward approaching/acting upon that motive) and obesity-related behaviors, including physical activity and overeating, in adolescents and their primary caregivers. Methods Adolescents (N = 47) aged 11–17 and their caregivers completed demographic questions and a 7-day diary at the end of each day about daily emotion, and physical activity and overeating behaviors. Results For adolescents and their caregivers, increased day-to-day fluctuations in HAPE and greater average HAPE was associated with increases in their own daily physical activity levels. Greater average caregiver HAPE was also associated with increased overeating in caregivers. When examining interdependency within dyads, greater average caregiver HAPE was associated with greater adolescent overeating behavior. Conclusions There is evidence that HAPE is related to obesity-related health promoting behaviors and health risk behaviors in adolescence and adulthood. Future studies should further explore mechanisms underlying these associations, including within the family system.


Circulation ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 125 (suppl_10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea R Blankenship ◽  
Christa Ice ◽  
Vanessa Shannon ◽  
Lesley Cottrell

BACKGROUND It has been proven that males engage in physical activity more than females starting at a young age. The goal of this study was to investigate gender differences based on parenting behaviors such as the frequency with which parents send their children out to play. METHODS Parents of children participating in a free cardiovascular risk-screening program (CARDIAC Project) completed a behavioral survey. Children (n =472; 43.3% female) who were enrolled in elementary school participated in the study. Parents provided information about children’s physical activity and their own ways in which they provided support of activity at home. Children’s participation in 12 activities was captured by total number of minutes per week. A combined mean activity score was calculated by summing the children’s total time across all of the activities. Parent behavior , specifically the frequency at which parents send their children outside to play was captured using a Likert scale where “1” represented never and “5” represented daily. Child gender and the amount of time allowed outside for play were then entered into a linear regression model to examine their role as potential predictors of child activity. RESULTS A significant gender difference (p<.001) was noted in children’s total activity time with boys (n = 237; 751 minutes/week) exhibiting higher mean activity each week than girls (n = 229; 521 minutes/week). Child gender and the amount of time allowed outside to play significantly predicted children’s activity levels overall. This model explained 28.9% of the variance in children’s activity levels (F = 20.25 (2); p<.001). Specifically, girls had less opportunity (3.75) than boys (4.05) to play outside. CONCLUSION A factor behind the lesser physical activity in female adolescents is significantly related to the decreased opportunity to play outside. Additional parenting practices will be shared if presented. In conclusion, parent behavior plays a significant role in the proven gender differences with childhood physical activity.


Author(s):  
Nguyễn Hữu An ◽  
Lê Duy Mai Phương

Determinants of the variation of happiness have long been discussed in social sciences. Recent studies have focused on investigating cultural factors contributing to the level of individual happiness, in which the cultural dimension of individualism (IND) and collectivism (COL) has been drawing the attention of a large number of scholars. At the cultural level of analysis, happiness is associated with personal achievements as well as personal egoism in individualistic cultures, while it is related to interpersonal relationships in collectivistic cultures. Empirical research yields unconventional results at the individual level of analysis, that is, individuals in collectivistic cultures favor IND to be happy, in contrast, people in individualistic cultures emphasize COL be satisfied in life. Using data from the fifth wave of the World Values Survey (WVS), this study takes the cultural dimension of IND and COL at the individual level of analysis to detect its effects on happiness (conceptualized as subjective well-being – SWB) in the comparison between the two cultures. Multiple linear regression models reveal results that individuals from the “West” experience greater happiness when they expose themselves less individualist, while, individuals from the “East” feel more satisfied and happier in their life when they emphasize more on IND or being more autonomous.


Author(s):  
Myrto F. Mavilidi ◽  
Sue Bennett ◽  
Fred Paas ◽  
Anthony D. Okely ◽  
Spyridoula Vazou

There is currently limited evidence on parents’ and early childhood educators’ perspectives on implementing programs that combine cognitive and motor tasks in early childhood. An online survey was distributed across Australia through social network platforms and emails at preschool centres, asking 65 parents of preschool children and early childhood educators about their preferences on program delivery, duration, and mode. Responses from the survey were evaluated in order to develop and pilot a 4 week home-based (n = 5 parents) and a 6 week school-based program (n = 5 educators) including cognitively engaging physical activity, requesting parents’ and educators’ perspectives, respectively, about the program components. Results from the online survey showed a preference for programs with online (e.g., video-based) compared to traditional delivery (e.g., books), emphasising the potential benefits on children’s physical activity levels, sleep, and cognitive function. However, after piloting the program, educators preferred to use the book version instead of the video. This program has the potential to become part of daily regular practice. Barriers reported include logistics issues (i.e., book size), connectivity issues with internet, and the need for varying activities.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1238-1244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor B. Tate ◽  
Anuja Shah ◽  
Malia Jones ◽  
Mary Ann Pentz ◽  
Yue Liao ◽  
...  

Background:Research on adolescent physical activity is mixed regarding the role of parent activity. This study tested parent encouragement, direct modeling, and perceived influence as moderators of objectively-measured (accelerometer) parent and child moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) associations.Methods:Parent-child dyads (n = 423; mean child age = 11.33 yrs.) wore accelerometers for 7 days; parents completed surveys. Hierarchical linear regression models tested moderation using a product of constituent terms interaction.Results:Parent-reported encouragement moderated the association between parent and child MVPA (β = –.15, P = .01, ΔR2 = .02, P < .01). Among parents with lower MVPA, child MVPA was higher for children receiving high encouragement (mean = 3.06, SE = .17) vs. low (mean = 3.03, SE = .15, P = .02) and moderate encouragement (mean = 3.40, SE = .09) vs. low (P = .04).Conclusions:Physical activity promotion programs may use parent encouragement as a tool to boost child activity, but must consider other child and parent characteristics that could attenuate effects.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 153-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Faulkner ◽  
Lira Yun ◽  
Mark S. Tremblay ◽  
John C. Spence

ParticipACTION is the Canadian physical activity communications and social marketing organization first launched in the fall of 1971 and then ceased operations in 2001. ParticipACTION was relaunched in 2007. Framed as a public health natural experiment, evidence was collected from a population-based survey of knowledge, awareness, understanding of physical activity, and physical activity levels among Canadians (individual level), and key informant surveys and interviews examining capacity, readiness and advocacy for physical activity promotion among physical activity organizations (organizational level). The purpose of this paper is to first provide an overview of some of the major initiatives undertaken by the ‘new’ ParticipACTION that may have contributed to any changes at these individual or organizational levels. Second, the paper sets the stage for the three empirical papers in this special series reporting follow-up results.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifan Zuo ◽  
Mu Zhang ◽  
Yudan Ma ◽  
Xiaoyuan Wu ◽  
Zhanbing Ren

Abstract BackgroundIn the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, physical activity cannot continue to play a role in promoting interpersonal relationships and enhancing social connectedness,people’s contact with the outside world has turned to SNS. During isolation, Whether sharing physical activity experience on SNS can enhance individual social connectedness and its mechanism. The objective of the present study was to examine the associations between sharing physical activity experience on SNS, positive self-presentation, positive feedback ang social connectedness during isolation.MethodsBased on the physical activity experience sharing scale, social connectedness scale, positive self-presentation scale and online positive feedback scale, 460 valid questionnaires were collected online from 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China. A series of multiple linear regression models were established to study the relationship between variables, and the bootstrap confidence interval was selected to test the mediating effect.ResultsDuring isolation, sharing physical activity experience is positively associated with social connectedness (b =0.308, p < 0.001), it is also positively associated with positive self-presentation(b =0.956, p < 0.001)and positive feedback(b =0.421, p < 0.001). In addition, it is verified that positive self-presentation has a significant positive impact positive feedback (b = 0.563, p <0.001). positive self-presentation(b =0.331, P < 0.001) and positive feedback(b =0.311, P < 0.001) are positively associated with social connectedness. Finally, it was verified that sharing physical activity experience indirectly through positive self-presentation (b=0.316, 95% CI: [0.180, 0.463]) and positive feedback (b= 0.131, 95% CI: [0.063, 0.207]) also had a significant impact on social connectedness, respectively. and indirectly through the mediation chain of online positive self-presentation and positive feedback (b=0.167, 95% CI: [0.088, 0.251]) also has a significant impact on social connectedness.ConclusionsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, sharing physical activity experience on SNS can create a positive, healthy and energetic personal image, gain recognition from others, and establish new interpersonal relationships. At the same time, in addition to advocating home-based exercises, governments should encourage residents to share content of home-based exercise or virtual sports on SNS.


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