Parental influence on children’s physical activity in urban green spaces

Parental influence on children’s physical activity in urban green spaces Abstract: This study explores parents’ influence on children’s physical activity (PA) in urban green spaces (UGS). In this study, “children” includes both younger children and adolescents, ages 1-18. Data (n= 422) were collected through face-to-face personal interviews with parents between April 1 and May 31, 2015 in city of Aydin, Turkey. We analyzed associations between parents’ physical co-activity, frequency and duration of parents’ PA with children and frequency and duration of children’s PA with bivariate correlations and multivariate regression analyses while controlling for children’s age and sex, parent’s marital status, education level, occupation, and household income level. Results showed that closer distance to UGS from home was associated with more frequency of children’s PA, whereas parents’ participation in children’s PA was negatively associated with children’s PA. On the other hand, frequency of parents’ PA with children was positively associated with frequency of children’s PA while duration of parents’ PA with children was positively associated with duration of children’s PA. We also found older children were negatively associated with frequency of children’s PA, whereas household income was positively associated with frequency and duration of children’s PA while more educated parents were negatively associated with frequency and duration of children’s PA. The findings indicate that “physically more active parents bring up physically more active children.” Keywords:  Adolescents, parents’ physical co-activity, parks, distance, Turkey. Kentsel yesil alanlarda cocuklarin fiziksel aktivitesi uzerinde ebeveynlerin etkisi Ozet: Bu calisma kentsel yesil alanlarda cocuklarin fiziksel aktivitesi uzerinde ebeveyn etkisini arastirmaktadir. Bu arastirmada “cocuklar” yaslari 1-18 arasinda degisen kucuk cocuklari ve ergenleri icermektedir. Veriler (n= 422) Aydin kentinde 1 Nisan-31 Mayis 2015 tarihleri arasinda ebeveynlerle yuz yuze bireysel gorusmeler yapilarak toplanmistir. Cocuklarin yasi ve cinsiyeti, ebeveynlerin medeni durumu, egitim seviyesi, is durumu ve aylik hane geliri kontrol edilerek iki degiskenli korelasyon ve cok degiskenli regresyon ile ebeveynlerin fiziksel aktivite birlikteligi, cocuklar ile birlikte fiziksel aktive sikligi ve suresi ile cocuklarin fiziksel aktivite sikligi ve suresi arasindaki iliski incelenmistir. Sonuclar, kentsel yesil alanlarin eve olan mesafesiyle cocuklarin fiziksel aktivite sikligi arasinda anlamli pozitif iliski oldugunu; diger taraftan ebeveynlerin cocuklarin fiziksel aktivitelerine katilimiyla cocuklarin fiziksel aktivite sikligi arasinda anlamli negatif iliski oldugunu gostermistir. Buna karsilik, ebeveynlerin cocuklari ile birlikte fiziksel aktivite sikligi ile cocuklarin fiziksel aktivite sikligi arasinda anlamli pozitif iliski bulunurken, ayni zamanda ebeveynlerin cocuklari ile birlikte fiziksel aktivite suresiyle cocuklarin fiziksel aktivite sureleri arasinda da anlamli pozitif iliski bulunmustur. Ayrica, sonuclar yasi daha buyuk cocuklarla cocuklarin fiziksel aktive sikligi arasinda anlamli negatif iliskisi oldugunu gosterirken, ebeveynlerin hane aylik gelirinin cocuklarin fiziksel aktivite sikligi ve suresi arasinda anlamli pozitif iliski oldugunu; diger taraftan da daha egitimli ebeveynlerle cocuklarin fiziksel aktivite sikligi ve suresi arasinda anlamli negatif iliski oldugunu gostermistir. Calismanin sonuclari "fiziksel olarak daha aktif ebeveynler fiziksel olarak daha aktif cocuklar yetistirmektedir" dusuncesini desteklemektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Ergenler, ebeveyn fiziksel aktivite birlikteligi, parklar, mesafe, Turkiye Received (Gelis):  28.09.2015 -  Revised (Duzeltme):  24.10.2015 - Accepted (Kabul):  29.10.2015 Cite (Atif):  Akpinar, A., Cankurt, M., 2016. Parental influence on children’s physical activity in urban green spaces.  Journal of the Faculty of Forestry Istanbul University  66(2): 471-482. DOI: 10.17099/jffiu.38834