The study seeks to combine multidisciplinary and innovative research methods for examining parenting from the views of both parents and children.
Children are asked to evaluate their perceptions of physical activity parenting via reflecting themselves in the characters called Tipsu and Tapsu
It is expected that PA parenting practices predict trends in children’s PA, and parent- and child-perceived parenting styles are moderating this relationship. Secondly, child’s PA, temperament, and perceived motor competence at kindergarten are expected to predict variation in PA parenting practices at primary school. Collaboration with leading researchers in the child and parenting research fields will ensure the best available expertise for implementation.
Physical activity parenting (edited on March 2023)
Parents filled a self-assessment questionnaire about their parental practices related to child’s physical activity (Laukkanen 2016; Trost ym. 2013) and their parenting styles. (Aunola&Nurmi 2005; Aunola&Nurmi 2004). Children assessed their parent’s physical activity parenting practices with a validated Physical Activity Parenting questionnaire for Children (PAP-C). PAP-C was developed and validated for Active Family study. Please see the original Finnish and culturally translated forms (English, German, Italian, Chinese) of PAP-C as supplementary materials below on this webpage.
PAP-C comprises 22 items hypothesised to cover three theory-guided factors of physical activity parenting – namely, structure for activity, autonomy support, and involvement. Face validity of the parenting constructs was examined in Finnish 7-10-year-olds as part of the validation protocol (Laukkanen et al. 2018). The parental structure is described as organization of children’s social and physical environments to facilitate the development of competence. Parental autonomy support describes the extent of taking the child’s perspective in interaction and decision-making as well as providing support and encouragement for self-expression, initiation, and self-endorsed activities. Parental involvement describes the degree to which parents devote time, invest attention and resources, are caring and supportive and show warmth and concern for being actively engaged in their children’s lives.
In PAP-C, item numbers 1-4 and 17-22 cover parental structure for activity, item numbers 5-9 autonomy support, and item numbers 11-16 involvement. In PAP-C, child is presented with two identical stick figures (named as ‘Tipsu’ and ‘Tapsu’). The appearance of the figures is unisex and identical, except for the name label on the chest (also unisex). Additionally, an introductory story is used 1) to explain the concept of PA by describing a variety of physical activities at a light to vigorous intensity level and 2) to provide identifiable human characteristics for the figures and their families. After the introduction, the children are presented with figures representing opposite statements about each of their parents. They are asked to choose the figure that is more like him or her. Answers for each item were provided using a 4-point Likert-scale. The response scale direction is reversed for every second item to avoid response bias. Children complete the answer scale by referencing their primary female (e.g., mother, stepmother) and male (e.g., father, stepfather) guardians. Children living with only one guardian (male or female) reported solely on the physical activity parenting for that guardian.
In the validation article (Laukkanen et al. 2021), a first-order 3-factor model of the structure for activity, autonomy support and involvement, with 20 items (two items removed), showed an acceptable fit. The model demonstrated configural, metric, and scalar invariance across grade levels. Composite reliabilities indicated moderate-to-good internal consistency (from 0.74 to 0.87) for the factors. ICCs (from 0.494 to 0.750, p < .001) showed moderate to excellent test–retest stability for all grade levels.
Physical activity
Children’s physical activity will be measured objectively via accelerometers. Children will be asked to wear the accelerometer on their waist for seven consecutive days. Parents will also evaluate their child’s physical activity via questionnaire.
Motor competence
Children’s motor competence will be measured with two locomotor and two object-control skill tests which are familiar from Test of Gross Motor Development - third editon (TGMD-3) (Ulrich 2017) test battery. The 15 second side hopping test, from Körperkoordinationstest Fur Kinder (KTK) (Kiphard & Schilling 2017), will also be used.
Perception of motor competence
Perception of motor competence (PMC) reflects a child’s expectations and conviction of being competent in motor tasks and it evolves over time. We are using a modified version of The pictorial scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence (PMSC) for young children measure (Barnett et al. 2015) which is suitable for primary school pupils.
Active family - questionnaire
The family background characteristics will be evaluated via a parental questionnaire.
References
Aunola, K. & Nurmi, JE. 2005. The Role of Parenting styles in Children's problem behavior. Child Development 76 (6), 1144-1159.
Aunola, K. & Nurmi, JE. 2004. Maternal affection moderates the impact of psychological control on a child's mathematical performance. Developmental Psychology 40 (6), 965-978.
Barnett LM, Ridgers ND, Zask A & Salmon J. 2015. . Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 18 (1). Sports Medicine Australia: 98–102.
Kiphard EJ, Schilling F. KTK Körperkoordinationstest Für Kinder (Body Coordination Test). 3., überar. (Schilling F, ed.). Göttingen: Hogrefe Verlag Gmbh; 2017.
Laukkanen, A., Sääkslahti, A. & Aunola, K. 2020. “It is like compulsory to go, but it is still pretty nice”: Young children’s views on physical activity parenting and the associated motivational regulation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (7), 2315.
Laukkanen, A., Aunola, K., Korhonen, E., Barnett, L. M. & Sääkslahti, A. 2021. Construct validity and reliability of the physical activity parenting questionnaire for children (PAP-C). International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 18, 61.
Ulrich DA. 2017. . Journal of Motor Learning and Development 5 (1): 1–4.
