Socio-ecological predictors of non-organized physical activity participation and decline between childhood and adolescence

ABSTRACT

Physical activity (PA) tends to decline during late childhood and adolescence. In Australia, this decline has been shown to particularly occur non-organized PA (e.g., active play, informal sport). This study aimed to explore predictors of non-organized PA at 13y; and decline between 11y and 13y. Data were sourced from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Non-organized PA was measured using time-use diaries. Analyses included Cragg hurdle and binary logistic regressions. The likelihood of non-organized PA at 13y was predicted by PA enjoyment (OR = 1.36, p = 0.007), number of siblings (OR = 1.11, p < 0.001), sex (females) (OR = 0.66, p < 0.001) and home computer use at 11y (OR = 0.98, p = 0.002) (n = 3,193). Females also engaged in less non-organized PA at 13y (β = −77.77, p = 0.048) (n = 3,193). Significant predictors of decline in non-organized PA were socioeconomic position (OR = 0.92, p = 0.047) and sugary drink consumption at 11y (OR = 1.06, p = 0.033) (n = 3,222). Strategies to promote non-organized PA may include targeting females and those of lower socioeconomic position, and focusing on types of PA that may replace the perceived benefits of computer use.

KEYWORDS:

• Exercise
• social environment
• child
• adolescent
• longitudinal studies

Acknowledgments

Author 1 is a recipient of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. This paper uses unit record data from Growing Up in Australia, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. The study is conducted in partnership between the Department of Social Services (DSS), the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The findings and views reported in this paper are those of the author and should not be attributed to DSS, AIFS or the ABS. The authors wish to thank Amy Kemp for providing graphic design assistance.

Disclosure of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Data availability statement

The datasets analysed during this study are available in the LSAC Dataverse: https://dataverse.ada.edu.au/dataverse/lsac

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1808296.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors