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Cited by 336Physical Activity and HealthObesity, Physical Activity, DietSports and Physical Education Studies

Parental influences on adolescent physical activity: a longitudinal study.

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India J. Ornelas, Krista M. Perreira, Guadalupe X. Ayala·2007·International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
DOI 10.1186/1479-5868-4-3PMC PMC1805507
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity is increasing among adolescents in the U.S., especially among girls. Despite growing evidence that parents are an important influence on adolescent health, few longitudinal studies have explored the causal relationship between parental influence and physical activity. This study examines how the relationships between parental influences and adolescent physical activity differ by gender and tests whether these relationships are mediated by adolescents' self-esteem and depression. METHODS: Data are from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The sample includes 13,246 youth, grades 7 to 12, interviewed in 1995 and again 1 year later. Logit models were used to evaluate parental influences on achieving five or more bouts of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week [MVPA] and whether the relationship between parental influence and MVPA was mediated by adolescents' level of self-esteem and depression. RESULTS: Family cohesion, parent-child communication and parental engagement positively predicted MVPA for both genders one year later (odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for females, 1.09 [1.05-1.12], 1.13 [1.07-1.19], 1.25 [1.17-1.33] and males, 1.08 [1.04-1.11], 1.14 [1.07-1.23], 1.23 [1.14-1.33], respectively); however, parental monitoring did not (odds ratio and confidence intervals for females and males, 1.02 [.97-1.07]). For both females and males, self-esteem mediated the relationship between parental influence and physical activity. Depressive symptoms were only a mediator among males. Females reported higher levels of parent-child communication and lower family cohesion compared with males. There were no gender differences in levels of parental monitoring and engagement. Females had significantly lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of depressive symptoms than males. CONCLUSION: Strategies to promote physical activity among adolescents should focus on increasing levels of family cohesion, parental engagement, parent-child communication and adolescent self-esteem.

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  • Parent-child relationship, family cohesion, and parent-child communication are associated with children's physical activity and healthy diet.

    “Parent-child relationship, family cohesion, and parent-child communication are also associated with children's early substance use initiation (Garcia and Gracia, 2009; Velleman et al., 2005), and their physical activity and healthy diet (Niu et al., 2018; Ornelas et al., 2007).”

    From Reading for pleasure in childhood and adolescent healthy behaviours: Longitudinal associations using the Millennium Cohort Study (2020) · cites this paper as Ornelas et al., 2007

    The Discussion reports that family cohesion and parent-child communication predicted adolescents’ physical activity one year later, and it discusses positive parental relationships in connection with activity. It does not report an association between these family factors and healthy diet; its reference to childhood eating behaviors concerns other studies. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Ornelas, I. J., Perreira, K. M., & Ayala, G. X.
Affiliations
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • San Diego State University (US)
Corresponding author
India J. Ornelas
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2007
Volume
4
Issue
1
Pages
3
ISSN
1479-5868 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1479-5868-4-3
PMC
PMC1805507
OpenAlex
W2122590113
Cited by
336
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 12
FWCI
11.63
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion)
  • Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • UNC Libraries
Funders
  • National Cancer Institute (R25CA057726)
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01-HD31921)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01HD031921)
  • Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (P01HD31921)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Social Sciences › Life-span and Life-course Studies › Sports and Physical Education Studies
Keywords
adolescent physical activity, parental influence, family cohesion, parent-child communication, parental engagement, parental supervision, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, gender differences, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, physical inactivity

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