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This study aimed to examine physical activity (PA) levels and mental health status (i.e., anxiety and depression) among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Secondary data analysis was conducted using the 2018 National Health Interview Survey. We identified 139 parents of children with ASD and 4,470 parents of children with no disability. Their PA levels, anxiety, and depression were analyzed. Compared with parents of children with no disability, parents of children with ASD were significantly less likely to meet the PA guideline for Americans and had lower odds of vigorous PA (aOR = 0.702), strengthening PA (aOR = 0.885), and light to moderate PA (aOR = 0.994). Parents of children with ASD reported significantly higher odds of anxiety (aOR = 1.559) and depression (aOR = 1.885). This study revealed lower PA levels and higher risks of anxiety and depression in parents of children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was to evaluate weight status and sociodemographic disparities in physical activity (PA) intensities (i.e., vigorous PA [VPA], moderate PA [MPA], and light PA [LPA]) during different segments of the school day, including physical education (PE), recess, and lunchtime. Participants were 287 third-grade students (M age = 8.38, SD = 0.50). PA was measured using accelerometers. Children, on average, spent 88.48 minutes of MPA and 13.35 minutes of VPA. Disparities in VPA were observed in sex (higher in boys in PE and recess) and weight status (higher in the healthy-weight group in recess and lunchtime). Sex disparities in MPA were observed in recess (higher in girls) and in lunchtime (higher in boys). Hispanic girls had more LPA in PE compared with non-Hispanic girls. Disparities in PA behaviors at PE, recess, and lunchtime are evident but different regarding children's demographics. Schools may tailor PA opportunities to promote children's PA and reduce disparity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Using 2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) National Youth Fitness Survey data, the authors conducted a cross-sectional secondary analysis to examine the associations of movement behaviors (ie, physical activity [PA] and screen-based sedentary behaviors) and fundamental motor skills (FMS) with fitness (ie, muscular fitness) and fatness (ie, body mass index and waist circumference) in 3- to 5-year-old children. The effect of ethnicity (Hispanic vs non-Hispanic) on these associations was also examined. Methods: A total of 352 children (173 girls; mean age = 4.02 y) from the 2012 NHANES data set were included. Parents reported their child's PA and screen-based sedentary behaviors. FMS (ie, locomotor and object control) were assessed with the Test of Gross Motor Development, 2nd edition. Other variables used were body mass index, waist circumference, and plank. Results: Hispanic children demonstrated lower levels of PA than non-Hispanic children (P <.05). Children's FMS emerged as significant predictors of muscular fitness and waist circumference, but not for body mass index in the Hispanic group. In the non-Hispanic group, FMS (ie, object control skills) and PA accounted for significant variances of muscular fitness and waist circumference, respectively. Conclusion: The associations of movement behaviors and FMS with fitness and fatness are different between Hispanic and non-Hispanic young children. Changes in policy or early childhood curriculum may be tailed to promote FMS for an impact on fitness and fatness in both Hispanic and non-Hispanic children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Developing physically literate individuals is a major goal of school physical education. To date, no research in the United States has examined physical literacy by simultaneously measuring multiple dimensions among young children. The purpose of this study was to examine students' current status of physical literacy in third grade. Method: Students (N = 342) from four elementary schools in Texas participated in the study. Dimensions of physical literacy including fundamental motor skills, health-related physical fitness, physical activity, and fitness knowledge were measured using the PE Metrics™, FitnessGram, accelerometers, and a written test, respectively. Results: The students showed varying levels of competencies across the physical literacy dimensions. Based on the results from multivariate analyses of variance, physical literacy as the single overarching factor was statistically associated with gender, Wilks's λ =.90, F(5, 316) = 6.82, p <.01, weight status, Wilks's λ =.81, F(5, 316) = 14.43, p <.01, and ethnicity, Wilks's λ =.96, F(5, 316) = 2.47, p <.05. Subsequent univariate analyses showed that girls had higher cardiorespiratory endurance but lower physical activity than boys; students with healthy body weight had higher cardiorespiratory endurance and fundamental motor skills than those with unhealthy weight; and Hispanic children displayed higher muscular fitness than non-Hispanic children. Conclusion: The physical literacy discrepancies by gender, weight status, and ethnicity identified in this study are useful for physical educators to promote physical literacy in various student groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we had two inter-related goals: (a) to examine sex and minority status differences on children's motivation for physical education (PE; i.e., their expectancy beliefs, subjective task values, and situational interest) and their psychomotor learning outcomes (i.e., motor competence, cardiorespiratory fitness, and in-class physical activity); and (b) to examine the relationships between children's motivation and their psychomotor learning outcomes while testing the moderation effects of sex and minority status. We recruited 195 fourth and fifth-grade students (101 boys; 94 girls; M age = 10.7, SD = 0.7 years) from three elementary schools in North Texas. Using multivariate analysis of variance, we identified a significant sex difference that favored boys in motivation and psychomotor learning outcomes, with no significant minority status difference in relation to these variables. Regression analysis revealed that children's expectancy beliefs were significantly associated with both motor competence (R 2 = 11%) and cardiorespiratory fitness (R 2 = 16%), while both situational interest and sex were associated with in-class physical activity (R 2 = 18%). Thus, improving children's expectancy beliefs may be a means of enhancing psychomotor learning outcomes in PE, especially for girls. Enhancing children's beliefs in their own ability and offering diversified PE content so as to generate greater interest may facilitate psychomotor learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport participation is an important means for adolescents to achieve moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), yet most high school students including athletes do not achieve the 60-minute daily MVPA guideline. As psychosocial factors influence athlete engagement and physical activity during sport, the perceived environment created by coaches could play a role in this influence. Guided by self-determination and achievement goal theories, this four-month prospective study examined the direct and indirect effects of perceived coach-created environment on high school athletes' MVPA and sedentary behavior (SB) during sport. During the third to fourth week of a sport season, 225 high school athletes (M age = 15.24 years) completed a survey assessing perceptions of coach-created empowering and disempowering climates as well as psychological need satisfaction and frustration. Four months later, their MVPA and SB percentage times (%) during sport were measured using accelerometers. Path analyses partially supported our hypothesis, indicating significant direct effects of a perceived empowering climate on need satisfaction (β =.41) and need frustration (β = –.29), and direct effects of a perceived disempowering climate on need frustration (β =.38) and MVPA% (β = –.28). No significant indirect effects on MVPA% or SB% were found. Findings support and provide new insights into the important role of disempowering beyond empowering climates in predicting high school athletes' PA. Specifically, when coaches display ego-involving and controlling behaviors, high school athletes may disengage during sport and achieve less overall MVPA. Further examination of these relationships using a longitudinal design across more diverse samples is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study examined the relationships between three constructs of TPB (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control [PBC]) and physical activity intention and behavior among Chinese female college students, and evaluated whether the relationships differed between healthy and vulnerable individuals within this population. Participants included 436 female college students (301 healthy and 135 vulnerable; Mean age = 19.24 years; SD = 0.97 years) recruited from five universities in China, and the data collection was completed in Fall 2015. Path analysis supported the direct and indirect relations of TPB constructs to physical activity intention and behavior among female college students, and the path model was invariant across the two groups. The vulnerable group reported significantly lower attitude, subjective norm, intention, and physical activity behavior than the healthy group but not for PBC. These findings suggest fostering positive attitudes and intention toward physical activity are important among Chinese female college students, regardless of their health status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between fundamental motor skills (FMS; including locomotor and object-control skills), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and sedentary behavior among young Hispanic and non-Hispanic children. Using the prospective research design spanning one academic school year, we recruited 671 children (6.96 ± 1.6 years, 46% girls) from four primary schools in North Texas, 300 of whom were Hispanic and 371 non-Hispanic children, with 90% of the Hispanic and 74% of the non-Hispanic children from low-income families. All participants completed the PE Metrics™ FMS assessment and wore Actical accelerometers. Hispanic children demonstrated a lower level of MVPA on school days than their non-Hispanic peers. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, both locomotor and object-control skills significantly predicted school-based MVPA for the non-Hispanic groups, while only object-control skills significantly predicted MVPA for the Hispanic group. For both ethnic groups, locomotor skills significantly predicted school-based sedentary behavior. The findings shed light on future motor competence–based interventions for physical activity promotion and obesity prevention among young Hispanic as well as non-Hispanic children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between physical literacy (i.e., motor competence, physical activity, and health-related fitness) and academic performance (i.e., executive function, class attendance, and standardized test scores) among adolescents. Second, we investigated whether these relationships differ between boys and girls using a structural invariable test. Using a prospective research design, we recruited 330 adolescents (154 boys and 176 girls; M age = 12.52 years, SD = 0.86) in Texas and conducted correlational analyses, finding that physical literacy variables were significantly related to executive function (while the r s range was from −.16 to −.30, the high scores on the instrument we used, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, indicate higher risks for executive dysfunction; p <.01) and positively associated with school attendance (r s range from.19 to.34; p <.05). Structural equation models supported the significant direct and indirect effects of motor competence on executive function and school attendance for boys and girls through physical fitness (all three components) and school-based moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, respectively. The structural invarince test indicated noninvariant models (based on path coefficients) between girls and boys (p <.01). Embracing psychomotor associations with physical literacy may be a promising way to elicit behavioral change in physical fitness and create a behavioral channel to academic success for adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs) aim to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles among school-age children and adolescents. Physical educators are highly qualified individuals taking on the role of certified physical activity leaders. Physical education teacher education (PETE) programs should consider preparing physical educators with sufficient knowledge and skills to implement a CSPAP and to foster physically literate individuals. This article describes the competencies needed for physical educators to implement CSPAP and synthesizes strategies and recommendations for infusing CSPAP concepts into PETE programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]