Patterns of physical activity parenting practices among parent-adolescent dyads who participated in a cross-sectional internet-based study

Authors: Thomson, Jessica; LANDRY, ALICIA - University Of Central Arkansas; Walls, Tameka

Submitted to: BioMed Central(BMC) Public Health
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/18/2021
Publication Date: 6/29/2021
Citation: Thomson, J.L., Landry, A.S., Walls, T.I. 2021. Patterns of physical activity parenting practices among parent-adolescent dyads who participated in a cross-sectional internet-based study. BioMed Central(BMC) Public Health. 21:1265.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11354-y

Interpretive Summary: Childhood and adolescence are critical periods for developing movement skills, learning healthy habits, and establishing a foundation for lifelong health and well-being. Yet the nation’s adolescents engage in insufficient levels of physical activity (PA). Parents can influence their children’s PA behaviors through the practices they use to support, encourage, and promote their children’s engagement in PA. Hence, objectives of this study were to determine patterns of PA parenting practices and their associations with demographic, body weight, and PA measures in a large sample of parents and their adolescent children (12-17 years). Survey data from Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating, a cross-sectional, internet-based study, conducted in 2014 were analyzed including five PA parenting practices – pressuring, guided choice, expectations, facilitation, and modeling – and adolescent age and parent and adolescent sex, body mass index category, legitimacy of parental authority regarding PA, and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA, minutes/day). Four classes of parent-adolescent dyads were identified representing a continuum of practice use from high to low. Younger adolescents (12-14 years) were more likely to belong to the high use class and pressuring/expectations class. Parents and adolescents with overweight/obesity were least likely to belong to facilitation/modeling class. Parents and adolescents belonging to the high use class were most likely to agree that parents have legitimate authority to set rules about PA and engaged in the most MVPA, while parents and adolescents belonging to the low use class were least likely to agree with legitimacy of parental authority. Results suggest that parents utilize distinct patterns of PA practices ranging from use of many, use of some, to low use of any practice and these patterns are associated with parent and adolescent demographic, body weight, and PA measures. Counseling or intervening with parents to use combinations of practices, like facilitation and modeling, to increase their adolescents’ and possibly their own participation in PA may be more effective than taking a hands-off or pressuring approach.

Technical Abstract: While research exploring relationships between individual parenting practices and child physical activity (PA) exists, little is known about simultaneous use of practices. Hence, study objectives were to determine patterns of PA parenting practices and their associations with demographic, anthropometric, and PA measures in a large sample of parents and their adolescent children (12-17 years). Methods: Dyadic survey data from Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating, a cross-sectional, internet-based study, conducted in 2014 were analyzed using latent class analysis on five PA parenting practices – pressuring, guided choice, expectations, facilitation, and modeling. Self-report model covariates included adolescent age and parent and adolescent sex, body mass index category (based on height and weight), legitimacy of parental authority regarding PA (PA-LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Results: Based on 1166 parent-adolescent dyads, four latent classes were identified representing a continuum of practice use (high to low) – Complete Influencers (26%), Facilitating-Modeling Influencers (23%), Pressuring-Expecting Influencers (25%), and Indifferent Influencers (27%). Compared to dyads with parent underweight/healthy weight, dyads with parent overweight/obesity had 84% higher odds of belonging to Indifferent Influencers. Compared to dyads with adolescent underweight/healthy weight, dyads with adolescent overweight/obesity had 50% and 46% lower odds of belonging to Facilitating-Modeling and Indifferent Influencers. Odds of belonging to Pressuring-Expecting and Indifferent Influencers were less than 1% lower for every 1 minute/day increase in parent MVPA and 2% and 4% lower for every 1 minute/day increase in adolescent MVPA. Compared to dyads with high parental and adolescent agreement with PA-LPA, dyads with low agreement had between 3 and 21 times the odds of belonging to one of the other three classes. Conclusions: Findings suggest that parents utilize distinct patterns of PA practices ranging from use of many, use of some, to low use of any practice and these patterns are differentially associated with parent and adolescent PA. When planning PA interventions, a counseling or intervening approach with parents to use combinations of practices, like facilitation and modeling, to positively influence their adolescents’ and possibly their own participation in PA may prove more efficacious than parental pressuring or lack of practice use.