An investigation of the relationship between physical activity parenting practices and child physical activity behaviours in Ireland

Background and Purpose: Physical activity (PA) parenting research has increased over the past two decades, with findings verifying the significant and positive role that parents can play in promoting and supporting youth PA... [ view full abstract ]

Background and Purpose: Physical activity (PA) parenting research has increased over the past two decades, with findings verifying the significant and positive role that parents can play in promoting and supporting youth PA (Gustafson & Rhodes, 2006). The purpose of the study was to investigate patterns of PA parenting practices and child PA behaviours in a sample of families from the Growing Up in Ireland child cohort.  Growing Up in Ireland is the national longitudinal study of children in Ireland.  Methods: A purposive sample of 120 families participated in the qualitative study and included children from a variety of backgrounds in terms of family structure, socio-economic status and geographical location.  Numerous topics were explored in the semi-structured interviews with parents and children. The Integrated Model of PA Parenting (Davison et al. 2013) was used to consolidate PA parenting practice data from the interviews. The model proposes three key domains of PA parenting practices: neglect/control, autonomy support, and structure.  The parent and child transcripts were analysed using the constant comparison analysis (Boeije, 2002).  Results: The PA parenting constructs of encouragement, involvement, facilitation and co-participation feature dominantly in the data, especially in relation to structured sport activities in comparison to unstructured activities. Parents who indicated an active lifestyle or who valued PA adopted PA parenting practices that promote child PA.  Parents who perceived their child to be athletically competent reported positive PA parenting practices (autonomy and structure). Conclusions: This study identifies how Irish parents engage in PA parenting practices and complements the international knowledge base on how parents influence children’s PA behaviour. Identifying and improving parents’ knowledge about all PA parenting practices is an essential step for PA parenting interventions. 

Gustafson, S.L. and Rhodes, R.E., 2006. Parental correlates of physical activity in children and early adolescents. Sports medicine, 36(1), pp.79-97.