Sociodemographic moderators of longitudinal changes in active play between childhood and adolescence in Australia

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of the analytic sample ^a, unweighted LSAC data.

	Wave 6 (n = 3567)^b	Wave 7 (n = 3174)^b
Age in years, mean (SD)	10.4 (0.5)	12.5 (0.5)
Girls, n (%)	1749 (49.0%)	1547 (48.7%)^c
Speaks English at home, n (%)	3257 (91.3%)	2912 (91.7%)^c
Lives in regional or remote area, n (%)	1306 (36.6%)	1169 (36.8%)^c
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, n (%)	95 (2.7%)	77 (2.4%)^c
Socioeconomic position z-score, mean (SD)	0.0 (1.0)	0.0 (1.0)
Attends public school, n (%)	2195 (61.6%)	1573 (49.6%)^c
Has two parents living in the home, n (%)	3044 (85.4%)	2651 (84.6%)
Number of siblings living in the home, mean (SD)	1.6 (1.0)	1.6 (1.0)
All carers in the home working full-time (≥30 hours/week), n (%)	1297 (36.5%)	1276 (41.1%)
Body mass index z-score, mean (SD)	0.3 (1.2)	0.3 (1.0)
Pubertal development score, mean (SD)^d	1.7 (0.5)	2.3 (0.7)
Attended school on day of TUD, n (%)	1664 (48.7%)	1535 (52.1%)
Season of measurement, n (%) Summer Autumn Winter Spring	71 (2.1%) 836 (24.4%) 1367 (39.9%) 1149 (33.6%)	253 (8.6%) 437 (14.8%) 1611 (54.7%) 646 (21.9%)
Active play participation (min/day), mean (SD)^e	38.7 (62.3)	17.1 (44.7)

LSAC = Longitudinal Study of Australian Children; n = number of participants; % = proportion of analytic sample; SD = standard deviation; TUD = time use diary.

^aThe sample shown here was included in main models which required valid data for active play on at least one occasion and a valid data weight.

^bVariable-specific missing data: two parents living in home (W6 n = 1, W7 n = 40), number of siblings (W6 n = 1, W7 n = 40), attends public school (W6 n = 1, W7 n = 5), all carers in the home working full-time (W6 n = 14, W7 n = 68), socioeconomic position (W6 n = 31, W7 n = 53), BMI z-score (W6 n = 84, W7 n = 145), pubertal development (W6 n = 18, W7 n = 19), attended school on day of TUD (W6 n = 151, W7 n = 228), season of measurement (W6 n = 144, W7 n = 227), active play participation (W6 n = 151, W7 n = 228).

^cWeighted proportions for Wave 7 (comparison with 12–13 year-olds in the 2016 Australian Census, excluding “not stated” responses): 48.9% were girls (Census: 48.6%), 87.8% spoke English at home (Census: 82.7%), 2.8% were of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin (Census: 5.4%), 33.4% lived in a regional or remote area (Census: 30.4%), 53.3% attended public school (Census: 58.3%) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022b).

^dThe pubertal development scale ranged from 1 (least developed) to 4 (most developed).

^eActivities that were coded as active play: flying disc games/boomerang throwing, going to the park, flying kites, hide and seek, hula hoop, kicking ball/ball games, playground/play on play equipment, rope skipping/skipping, slip n slide, throwing ball against wall, tips/chasing/running around, trampolining, water fight, unstructured active play (not further defined).

Figure 1. Changes in mean active play duration (min/day) between 10-11y and 12-13y, stratified by sex, language spoken at home and geographical remoteness, with 95% confidence intervals, unweighted LSAC data.

Table 2. Results of preliminary models testing moderators of change in active play participation (min/day) between 10-11y and 12-13y, weighted LSAC data^a.

Potential moderator	Preliminary unadjusted models^b		Preliminary adjusted models^b		Final model (n = 3567)^c
	n	β (95% CI)	n	β (95% CI)	β (95% CI)
Sex (girls)	3614	−8.3 (−14.1, −2.4)	3568	−7.6 (−13.3, −1.8)	−7.6 (−13.3, −1.8)
Speaks English at home	3614	−12.3 (−22.5, −2.1)	3567	−14.3 (−23.9, −4.7)	−12.3 (−22.0, −2.7)
Lives in regional or remote area	3614	−6.8 (−13.2, −0.4)	3568	−8.3 (−14.7, −1.9)	−6.3 (−12.8, +0.1)
Age in months	3614	+0.1 (−0.7, +0.8)	3568	+0.0 (−0.7, +0.8)	–
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander	3614	−11.5 (−31.2, +8.3)	3568	−10.0 (−29.9, +9.9)	–
Socioeconomic position z-score	3601	+1.2 (−1.5, +3.8)	3556	+1.7 (−1.0, +4.4)	–
Attends public school	3612	+1.5 (−4.5, +7.6)	3568	+1.6 (−4.5, +7.6)	–
Two parents living in the home	3613	+0.6 (−8.0, +9.3)	3568	+2.8 (−6.0, +11.6)	–
Number of siblings living in the home	3613	−0.3 (−3.0, +2.4)	3568	+0.1 (−2.5, +2.8)	–
All carers in the home working full-time^d	3611	−0.9 (−7.1, +5.3)	3566	−0.8 (−6.9, +5.3)	–

LSAC = Longitudinal Study of Australian Children; n = number of participants; β = unstandardised regression coefficient; 95% CI = 95% confidence interval for the unstandardised regression coefficient.

^aSupplemental Files A and B provide additional data, including results for potential confounding variables: TUD contextual variables (school attendance and season of measurement), body mass index z-score and pubertal development.

^bMixed models assessed the effect of wave of measurement (W6/W7) on the duration of active play, nested within individuals. Preliminary unadjusted models tested interactions between wave of measurement and each potential moderator separately. Preliminary adjusted models tested the same interactions separately but with potential confounding variables included in models.

^cThe final model included variables that were associated with active play in preliminary adjusted models (i.e. where the 95% CI did not intersect with zero), as well as potential confounding variables.

^d‘Full-time’ was defined by LSAC as being at least 30 hours per week.

Australian Bureau of Statistics. TableBuilder | Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved November 7, 2022b. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/microdata-tablebuilder/tablebuilder

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