Parental Correlates of Physical Activity in Children and Early Adolescents
Abstract
This article is intended to unite the existing research on parental influences on children's physical activity behaviours in order to establish direction for future research and improve existing child physical activity intervention programmes. A comprehensive, 34-study review of parental correlates of child physical activity was conducted and six variables were examined. There were significant correlations found between parental support and child physical activity level. Results for an association between parental and child physical activity levels, however, were mixed. There were not enough studies to draw conclusions about single-parent families, family socioeconomic status and ethnicity. Finally, there were some weak inter- and intra-generational sex correlations, but these results were mostly inconclusive. Possible mechanisms, including parental support, modelling, shared activities, societal differences by generation, minority groups and genetics are discussed, and recommendations are made on translating experimental results into tangible intervention efforts essential for disease prevention through increased physical activity.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Encouragement and modelling by peers, friends and parents are factors that motivate children and adolescents to participate in physical activity or achieve recommended levels of physical activity.
“Encouragement and modelling by peers, friends and parents are factors that motivate children and adolescents to participate in physical activity or achieve recommended levels of physical activity.97–104”
From Physical activity and health in Chinese children and adolescents: expert consensus statement (2020) (2020) · cites this paper as [103]
Cites
Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change
Bandura, A. (1977) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.84.2.191 · Cited by 43,925 · see citing works
Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change
Bandura, A. (1978) · Advances in Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0146-6402(78)90002-4 · Cited by 10,586 · see citing works
Social Foundations of Thought and Action
Bandura, A. (2002) · SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781446221129.n6 · Cited by 9,948 · see citing works
‘Small Changes' to Diet and Physical Activity Behaviors for Weight Management
Hills, A. P., Byrne, N. M., Lindstrom, R. C., & Hill, J. O. (2013) · Obesity Facts · doi:10.1159/000345030 · Cited by 9,526 · see citing works
A review of correlates of physical activity of children and adolescents
SALLIS, J. F., PROCHASKA, J. J., & TAYLOR, W. C. (2000) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-200005000-00014 · Cited by 4,421 · see citing works
(2006) · PubMed · Cited by 3,378 · see citing works
Systematic Reviews in Health Care : Meta-Analysis in Context
Egger, M., Smith, G. D., & Altman, D. G. (2000) · Cited by 2,312 · see citing works
Advances in exercise adherence
Dishman, R. K. (1994) · Human Kinetics eBooks · Cited by 1,017 · see citing works
Evaluating a model of parental influence on youth physical activity
Trost, S. G., Sallis, J. F., Pate, R. R., Freedson, P. S., Taylor, W. C., & Dowda, M. (2003) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0749-3797(03)00217-4 · Cited by 802 · see citing works
Influence of parents' physical activity levels on activity levels of young children
Moore, L. L., Lombardi, D. A., White, M. J., Campbell, J. L., Oliveria, S. A., & Ellison, R. C. (1991) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(05)80485-8 · Cited by 660 · see citing works
Physical Activity Guidelines for Adolescents: Consensus Statement
Sallis, J. F., & Patrick, K. (1994) · Pediatric Exercise Science · doi:10.1123/pes.6.4.302 · Cited by 656 · see citing works
A descriptive epidemiology of leisure-time physical activity.
Stephens, T., Jacobs, D. R., & Cc, W. (1985) · PubMed Central · Cited by 494 · see citing works
Determinants of physical activity and interventions in youth
Sallis, J. F., Simons‐Morton, B. G., Stone, E. J., Corbin, C. B., Epstein, L. H., Faucette, N., Iannotti, R. J., Killen, J. D., Klesges, R. C., Petray, C. K., et al. (1992) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/00005768-199206001-00007 · Cited by 470 · see citing works
The Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model: A Conceptual Bridge Between Theory and Practice
Welk, G. J. (1999) · Quest · doi:10.1080/00336297.1999.10484297 · Cited by 464 · see citing works
Parents??? Activity-Related Parenting Practices Predict Girls??? Physical Activity
Davison, K. K., Cutting, T. M., & Birch, L. L. (2003) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/01.mss.0000084524.19408.0c · Cited by 436 · see citing works
Parental and Peer Influences on Leisure-Time Physical Activity in Young Adolescents
Anderssen, N., & Wold, B. (1992) · Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport · doi:10.1080/02701367.1992.10608754 · Cited by 389 · see citing works
Correlates of physical activity at home in Mexican-American and Anglo-American preschool children.
Sallis, J. F., Nader, P. R., Broyles, S. L., Berry, C. C., Elder, J. P., McKenzie, T. L., & Nelson, J. A. (1993) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037//0278-6133.12.5.390 · Cited by 377 · see citing works
Parental Influences on Physical Activity in Children: An Exploration of Potential Mechanisms
Welk, G. J., Wood, K., & Morss, G. M. (2003) · Pediatric Exercise Science · doi:10.1123/pes.15.1.19 · Cited by 375 · see citing works
Përusse, L., Tremblay, A., Leblanc, C., & Bouchard, C. (1989) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115205 · Cited by 332 · see citing works
Determinants of Exercise among Children. II. A Longitudinal Analysis
DiLorenzo, T. M., Stucky‐Ropp, R. C., Wal, J. S. V., & Gotham, H. J. (1998) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1006/pmed.1998.0307 · Cited by 316 · see citing works
Garcia, A., Broda, M. A. N., Frenn, M., Coviak, C. P., Pender, N. J., & Ronis, D. L. (1995) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.1995.tb03365.x · Cited by 315 · see citing works
A Prospective Study of the Determinants of Physical Activity in Rural Fifth-Grade Children
Trost, S. G., Pate, R. R., Saunders, R., Ward, D. S., Dowda, M. C., & Felton, G. (1997) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1006/pmed.1996.0137 · Cited by 313 · see citing works
(2004) · PubMed · Cited by 311 · see citing works
Predictors of change in children’s physical activity over 20 months
Sallis, J. F., Alcaraz, J. E., McKenzie, T. L., & Hovell, M. F. (1999) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0749-3797(98)00154-8 · Cited by 294 · see citing works
Brustad, R. J. (1996) · Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport · doi:10.1080/02701367.1996.10607959 · Cited by 294 · see citing works
Correlates of physical activity at home in Mexican-American and Anglo-American preschool children.
Sallis, J. F., Nader, P. R., Broyles, S. L., et al. (1993) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.12.5.390 · Cited by 269 · see citing works
Determinants of Exercise in Children
Stucky‐Ropp, R. C., & DiLorenzo, T. M. (1993) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1006/pmed.1993.1079 · Cited by 263 · see citing works
Parental Behavior in Relation to Physical Activity and Fitness in 9-Year-Old Children
Sallis, J. F. (1992) · Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine · doi:10.1001/archpedi.1992.02160230141035 · Cited by 254 · see citing works
Klesges, R. C., Eck, L. H., Hanson, C. L., Haddock, C. K., & al, E. (1990) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037//0278-6133.9.4.435 · Cited by 244 · see citing works
Correlates of Vigorous Exercise in a Predominantly Low SES and Minority High School Population
Zakarian, J. M., Hovell, M. F., Hofstetter, C. R., Sallis, J. F., & Keating, K. (1994) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1006/pmed.1994.1044 · Cited by 243 · see citing works
Summary health statistics for U.S. adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2001.
Lucas, J. W., Schiller, J. S., & Benson, V. (2004) · PubMed · Cited by 227 · see citing works
Familial Aggregation in Physical Activity
Freedson, P. S., & Evenson, S. K. (1991) · Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport · doi:10.1080/02701367.1991.10607538 · Cited by 221 · see citing works
Assessment, prevalence, and cardiovascular benefits of physical activity and fitness in youth
Baranowski, T., Bouchard, C., Bar‐Or, O., Bricker, T., Heath, G. W., Kimm, S. Y. S., Malina, R. M., Obarzanek, E., Pate, R. R., Strong, W. B., et al. (1992) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/00005768-199206001-00006 · Cited by 220 · see citing works
Family Variables and Physical Activity in Preschool Children
Sallis, J. F., Patterson, T. L., McKenzie, T. L., & Nader, P. R. (1988) · Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics · doi:10.1097/00004703-198804000-00001 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Dempsey, J. M., Kimiecik, J. C., & Horn, T. S. (1993) · Pediatric Exercise Science · doi:10.1123/pes.5.2.151 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Biddle, S., & Γούδας, Μ. (1996) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.1996.tb07914.x · Cited by 181 · see citing works
Parental correlates of physical activity in a racially/ethnically diverse adolescent sample
MCGUIRE, M., Hannan, P. J., Neumark‐Sztainer, D., Cossrow, N. H. F., & Story, M. (2002) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/s1054-139x(01)00392-5 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Aggregation of physical activity habits in Mexican-American and Anglo families
Sallis, J. F., Patterson, T. L., Buono, M. J., Atkins, C. J., & Nader, P. R. (1988) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/bf00846167 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Psychosocial Factors Influencing Intentions to Exercise of Young Students from Grades 7 to 9
Godin, G., & Shephard, R. J. (1986) · Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport · doi:10.1080/02701367.1986.10605387 · Cited by 167 · see citing works
Klesges, R. C., Eck, L. H., Hanson, C. L., et al. (1990) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.9.4.435 · Cited by 155 · see citing works
Yang, X. L., Telama, R., & Laakso, L. (1996) · International Review for the Sociology of Sport · doi:10.1177/101269029603100304 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Correlates of Physical Activity Behavior in Rural Youth
Pate, R. R., Trost, S. G., Felton, G., Ward, D. S., Dowda, M. C., & Saunders, R. P. (1997) · Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport · doi:10.1080/02701367.1997.10608003 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Parental Beliefs and Children's Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity
Kimiecik, J. C., & Horn, T. S. (1998) · Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport · doi:10.1080/02701367.1998.10607681 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Sociocultural correlates of childhood sporting activities: Their implications for heart health
Gottlieb, N. H., & Chen, M. (1985) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(85)90037-1 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Determinants of physical activity in obese children assessed by accelerometer and self-report
Epstein, L. H., Paluch, R. A., Coleman, K. J., Vito, D., & Anderson, K. (1996) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-199609000-00012 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Determinants of Physical Activity Among Female Adolescents
Bungum, T. J., & Vincent, M. L. (1997) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0749-3797(18)30208-3 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Familial Aggregation of Leisure-Time Physical Activity - a Three Generation Study
Aarnio, M., Winter, T., Kujala, U. M., & Kaprio, J. A. (1997) · International Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1055/s-2007-972680 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Electronic Motion Sensors and Heart Rate as Measures of Physical Activity in Children
Freedson, P. S. (1991) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.1991.tb06018.x · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Familial resemblance in lifestyle components: results from the Canada Fitness Survey.
Përusse, L., Leblanc, C. P., & Bouchard, C. (1988) · PubMed · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Influence of Parents’ and Siblings’ Physical Activity on Activity Levels of Adolescents
Raudsepp, L., & Viira, R. (2000) · Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy · doi:10.1080/1740898000050205 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Physical activity patterns of preschool children
Poest, C. A., Williams, J. R., Witt, D. D., & Atwood, M. E. (1989) · Early Childhood Research Quarterly · doi:10.1016/0885-2006(89)90021-5 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Children's Perception of Parental Exercise: Influence of Sex and Age
Godin, G., Shephard, R. J., & Colantonio, A. (1986) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.1986.62.2.511 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Sport and leisure : results from the sport and leisure module of the 2002 General Household Survey
Fox, K., & Rickards, L. (2004) · Stationery Office eBooks · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Dubowitz, H., Newberger, C. M., Melnicoe, L. H., et al. (1988) · Pediatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/s0031-3955(16)36584-1 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
(1996) · Health Education · doi:10.1080/10556699.1996.10603181 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Morrison, J. A., Guo, S. S., Specker, B., Chumlea, W. C., Yanovski, S. Z., & Yanovski, J. A. (2001) · American Journal of Human Biology · doi:10.1002/1520-6300(200102/03)13:2
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
van Sluijs, E. M. F., McMinn, A. M., & Griffin, S. J. (2007) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.39320.843947.be · Cited by 1,120 · see citing works
Parental correlates in child and adolescent physical activity: a meta-analysis
Yao, C. A., & Rhodes, R. E. (2015) · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · doi:10.1186/s12966-015-0163-y · Cited by 540 · see citing works
“Similarly, among maternal relationships, motherdaughter PA was significantly related [7].”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationCorrelates of physical activity of children and adolescents: A systematic review of reviews
Sterdt, E., Liersch, S., & Walter, U. (2014) · Health Education Journal · doi:10.1177/0017896912469578 · Cited by 431 · see citing works
Edwardson, C. L., & Gorely, T. (2010) · Psychology of Sport and Exercise · doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2010.05.001 · Cited by 432 · see citing works
Correlates of physical activity in youth: a review of quantitative systematic reviews
Biddle, S. J. H., Atkin, A. J., Cavill, N., & Foster, C. (2011) · International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1080/1750984x.2010.548528 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
Physical activity and social support in adolescents: a systematic review
Mendonca, G., Cheng, L. A., Melo, E. N., & de Farias Junior, J. C. (2014) · Health Education Research · doi:10.1093/her/cyu017 · Cited by 322 · see citing works
Organized Sports for Children, Preadolescents, and Adolescents
Logan, K., Cuff, S., COUNCIL ON SPORTS MEDICINE AND FITNESS, LaBella, C. R., Brooks, M. A., Canty, G., Diamond, A. B., Hennrikus, W., Moffatt, K., Nemeth, B. A., et al. (2019) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2019-0997 · Cited by 261 · see citing works
Physical activity and health in Chinese children and adolescents: expert consensus statement (2020)
Chen, P., Wang, D., Shen, H., Yu, L., Gao, Q., Mao, L., Jiang, F., Luo, Y., Xie, M., Zhang, Y., et al. (2020) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsports-2020-102261 · Cited by 225 · see citing works
Laird, Y., Fawkner, S., Kelly, P., McNamee, L., & Niven, A. (2016) · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · doi:10.1186/s12966-016-0405-7 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
Nonexercise activity thermogenesis – liberating the life‐force
Levine, J. A. (2007) · Journal of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2796.2007.01842.x · Cited by 205 · see citing works
Interventions to promote physical activity among young and adolescent girls: a systematic review
Camacho-Minano, M. J., LaVoi, N. M., & Barr-Anderson, D. J. (2011) · Health Education Research · doi:10.1093/her/cyr040 · Cited by 201 · see citing works
Obesity and eating behavior from the perspective of twin and genetic research
Silventoinen, K., & Konttinen, H. (2020) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.012 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Halperin, J. M., Berwid, O. G., & O’Neill, S. (2014) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.chc.2014.05.005 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Reflective Informatics Through Family Storytelling: Self-discovering Physical Activity Predictors
Saksono, H., & Parker, A. G. (2017) · Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3025453.3025651 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Vancampfort, D., Van Damme, T., Firth, J., Smith, L., Stubbs, B., Rosenbaum, S., Hallgren, M., Hagemann, N., & Koyanagi, A. (2019) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105819 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Colabianchi, N., Clennin, M. N., Dowda, M., McIver, K. L., Dishman, R. K., Porter, D. E., & Pate, R. R. (2019) · Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health · doi:10.1136/jech-2018-211456 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“27 We found parental support associated with TPA regardless of NPAE at younger ages, but as children transitioned to middle school this association remained only for those in supportive NPAEs.”
- Authors
- Gustafson, S. L., & Rhodes, R. E.
- Affiliations
- University of Victoria (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Rhodes, Ryan E
- ORCID
- Rhodes, Ryan E
- Venue
- Sports Medicine
- Published
- 2006
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 79-97
- ISSN
- 0112-1642 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2047582079
- Cited by
- 762
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 45 · 2021: 51 · 2020: 56 · 2019: 43 · 2018: 43 · 2017: 55 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 51 · 2014: 52 · 2013: 43 · 2012: 36
- FWCI
- 1.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Sports Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- 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
- children's physical activity, early adolescents, parental influence, parental support, parental role modeling, family socioeconomic status, single-parent families, ethnicity, sex differences, intergenerational transmission, physical activity interventions, disease prevention
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, British Columbia, Child, Ethnicity, Humans, Parent-Child Relations, Social Class, Exercise
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
