What matters when children play: Influence of Social Cognitive Theory and perceived environment on levels of physical activity among elementary-aged youth
Introduction
Physical activity (PA) among youth is associated with both immediate and long-term health benefits (Dwyer et al., 2009, Gordon-Larsen et al., 2004). Participating in a combination of moderate and vigorous PA for 60 min per day reduces body adiposity, increases aerobic fitness, reduces blood pressure, and improves bone mass, among other health benefits (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). However, only around 18% of youth meet national recommendations for aerobic activity (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Moreover, the amount of time children engage in PA declines continuously from childhood to adolescence to adulthood (Pate et al., 2009), and the gap between time spent in PA and recommendations is larger among girls than boys (Nadar, Bradley, Houts, McRitchie, & O'Brien, 2008). Ethnic differences in the amount of time spent in PA may also emerge as children move into adolescence; however, the number of studies which have recruited elementary-aged youth from ethnic minority groups is limited (Gesell et al., 2008, van der Horst et al., 2007).
Schools provide the opportunity for cost effective and efficient delivery of PA instruction and programs due to the large number of children they reach, the amount of time children spend in school, and the potential for PA equipment to be present in schoolyards. PA at school may be especially important for minority children living in low-income, urban areas where PA opportunities and facilities are often limited (Umstattd Meyer et al., 2013, Wright et al., 2013). Children may engage in moderate or vigorous PA at various times throughout the school day, including during recess, physical education classes, lunch, and regular classroom time (Nettleford et al., 2010, Tudor-Locke et al., 2006). Due to academic demands, opportunities for PA during the school day in the form of physical education classes may be reduced (Slater, Nicholson, Chriqui, Turner, & Chaloupka, 2012); however, after-school programs provide students with access to school facilities and have been shown to promote increased PA among youth (Branscum and Sharma, 2012, Iversen et al., 2011, Tudor-Locke et al., 2006). Previous work has observed that girls spend less time engaged in PA than boys both during and after school (Nettleford et al., 2010, Ridgers et al., 2011), and some ethnic differences may also exist (Ridgers et al., 2011).
Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) is frequently used as a theoretical framework in school-based interventions (Branscum and Sharma, 2012, Brown et al., 2013, Sharma, 2006). SCT offers a comprehensive framework for understanding PA behavior among youth at school as it addresses individual, environmental, and social constructs, as well as the dynamic interaction between person, environment, and behavior (Bandura, 1986, Bandura, 2004). Studies of school and after-school PA programs have shown that self-efficacy, enjoyment, and social support are predictors of PA (Branscum and Sharma, 2012, Brown et al., 2013). While much work exists to link children's perceptions of their neighborhood and other environments with PA behavior (Holt et al., 2008, Hume et al., 2005), additional work is needed to explore the behavioral impacts of children's perceptions of the physical environment in their schools (Brown et al., 2013), and little is known about how psychosocial and perceived environment variables may differ among ethnic minority populations (van der Horst et al., 2007).
The primary aims of this study were to examine 1) the relationship between SCT variables (self-efficacy, enjoyment, and social support) and PA levels among elementary school children; 2) to examine perceived PA environment variables related to schoolyards (structures, condition, equipment and supervision) and their ability to predict PA above and beyond the other SCT variables; and 3) to examine if ethnicity moderates this relationship. Due to the large Hispanic population in our dataset, we specifically examined differences in PA levels and predictors of PA between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students.
Section snippets
Procedure and participants
The current study sampled participants of the [blinded] study, a four-year project examining the effects of a combined curriculum and environmental intervention on children's PA during the school day. It builds on previous work to examine the influence of renovating schoolyards on PA (Anthamatten et al., 2011, Brink et al., 2010). Eight urban public schools located in Denver, Colorado were recruited to participate in the study. Schools were located in predominately low-income neighborhoods with
Individual characteristics
Participants self-reported their height, weight, sex, ethnicity, and age. Self-reported height and weight was used to estimate body mass index (BMI) percentile for age. Studies on the validity and reliability of self-reported height and weight among children indicate a tendency towards overestimation of height and underestimation of weight (Seghers and Claessens, 2012, Tsigilis, 2006). A previous comparison of self-report compared to measured data from [blinded] participants found that weight
Results
A summary of individual characteristics is provided in Table 1. Students ranged in age from 9 to 12 years old, the largest ethnic group represented was Hispanic (56%), half were girls, and the mean BMI percentile for age was 62.89 (SD = 33.57), which corresponds with the healthy weight category (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). There were significantly more Hispanic girls than non-Hispanic girls in the sample (χ2 = 8.15, p = .004). Hispanic students also had higher mean BMI
Discussion
The primary aim of this research was to examine the relationship between SCT and PA levels among elementary school children, with particular attention to the ability of perceived environment variables to predict PA above and beyond other SCT variables. Secondarily, we were interested in whether there were differences in predicting PA among Hispanic and non-Hispanic students. While previous studies examined SCT and perceived environment, very few have sought to understand the ability of these
Conclusions
Our results demonstrate the importance of SCT variables, especially self-efficacy and social support, in understanding children's PA. Our analysis also highlights the importance of understanding how predictors of PA may differ by ethnic group. Future research should clarify issues related to self-efficacy’s influence on PA, especially among ethnic minority populations, and the role of perceived school environment in influencing PA.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by NICHD/NCI/NIDDK R01HD057229 and a Cancer Education and Career Development Program (R25CA090956).
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