Toward a Better Understanding of the Link Between Parent and Child Physical Activity Levels: The Moderating Role of Parental Encouragement
Document Type
Article - Open Access
Publication Title
Journal of Physical Activity and Health
Publisher
Human Kinetics
Publication Date
9-2015
Abstract/ Summary
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; Mchild 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 (B = −.15, p = .01, ΔR2 = .02, p < .01). Among parents with lower MVPA, child MVPA was higher for children receiving high encouragement (M = 3.06, SE = .17) vs. low (M = 3.03, SE = .15, p = .02) and moderate encouragement (M = 3.40, SE = .09) vs. low (p = 0.04).
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.
Repository Citation
Shonkoff, E.,
Shah, A.,
Jones, M.,
Pentz, M.,
Liao, Y.,
&
Dunton, G.
(2015). Toward a Better Understanding of the Link Between Parent and Child Physical Activity Levels: The Moderating Role of Parental Encouragement. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 12(9), 1238-1244.
Available at: https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/health_facpubs/78