Abstract
Objectives
Possessing positive physical perceived competence is important for physical activity
in older children. Young children are primarily physically active through play-based
behaviour rather than through organised sports and activities, so understanding how
play perceptions might influence physical activity behaviour is important. The study
purpose was to assess if perceived active play competence is associated with young
children’s physical activity.
Design
Cross sectional study.
Methods
This paper uses two different samples drawn from the same Australian city, both collected
in 2013. The first sample included 152 children (49% boys) aged 4–5 years (M = 4.7, SD = 0.47), the second sample included 78 children (55% boys) aged 5–8 years (M = 6.6, SD = 0.93). The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence was used to assess
children’s perceived competence in six skill-related play activities. Moderate- to
vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) was assessed for 8 consecutive days via
accelerometers. A general linear model with the mean minutes in MVPA per day as the
outcome, perceived play competence as the independent variable and adjusting for relevant
confounders was performed in each sample.
Results
Perceived active play competence was not related to MVPA min/day (B = 0.44, p = 0.323) in the younger sample, but was in the older sample (B = 1.53, p = 0.026), explaining 24% of adjusted variance.
Conclusions
Positive findings in the older sample show school-aged children need exposure to play
based activities in order to develop the positive self-perception needed to engage
in MVPA every day.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 21, 2017
Accepted:
March 4,
2017
Received in revised form:
February 6,
2017
Received:
November 3,
2016
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
