Social support has been associated with regular physical activity (PA); however, little is known about the specific types and sources of support important for in-school PA among children. To explore the comparative contribution to children’s in-school PA we use both ecological and social learning theories to understand how contextual supports at the microsystem level interact with children’s personal characteristics. The study explored how types of support (talking, encouragement, doing with, watching) from six sources (parents, PE teacher, classroom teacher, principal, friends, classmates) varied by sex, weight status and race/ethnicity.
Method:
A total of 347 children (Mage = 9.39, SD= .44; 52% African-American, 20% Caucasian) completed an expanded version of a reliable and valid instrument measuring source and type of support received for PA (alphas: .72-.79). Waist circumference-to-height ratio (WCHt) was used to measure weight status. Objective PA was measured using accelerometry; data were converted to average minutes of MVPA over a 3-day period.
Analysis/Results:
Correlation analyses showed positive associations between sources (classmates, classroom teachers, principals) talking about PA and children’s in-school PA (r=.12-.17). When data were analyzed across source, principals’ support was key (r=.12). For boys, both type (r=.24) and source (r=.17) of support were significant, but not for girls. Talking about PA with any source was associated with PA for African-American students (r=.19) but only the school principal was a significant source for Caucasians (r=.27). Among overweight children, encouragement (r=.21), watching (r=.20), and talking about PA (r=.27) were correlated with PA, and support from principals (r=.20) and parents (r=.20) were significant. Regression models showed that type of support contributed a significant proportion of variance in PA when controlling for sex and weight status (adj. R2=.24), with talking about PA the significant type contributor (β=.14).
Conclusions:
Results support the hypothesis that one’s personal characteristics can play an important interactive role with types and sources of support for in-school PA. Intervention efforts to build a supportive school climate for PA can be targeted to benefit all students, especially those that involve talking about PA, and use of the principal as a powerful influence.