Sociological Factors Shaping Physical Activity in Children

Introduction

Physical activity patterns among children are affected by factors at the individual, school, and community levels. At the individual level, physical activity participation is highest among boys, and socioeconomic differences are less consistently reported. Some degree of socialization is necessary for voluntary participation in physical activity to occur. For most children — especially those in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade — the major agents of socialization into sport appear to be the family, media, peer group, community, environment, geographic and seasonal context, and school (Bower, Hales, Tate, Rubin, Benjamin, & Ward, 2008). The reasons for the prominence of these agents include the intensity and frequency of contact and the ability of these institutions or individuals to control rewards and punishments. Socialization shapes the attitudes, values, and behaviors of children, including those related to sport and physical activity.

Family and Peer Influences

The family is believed to be one of the major agents of socialization into sport. The effect of siblings on a child's participation in sport has been found to be relatively low in studies assessing the influence of various socialization agents. Nevertheless, siblings may still affect a child's sport participation to some degree. Much as with other formative influences on childhood behavior, parents appear to be a strong influence on physical activity performance (Bower et al., 2008). The mechanisms can be either direct — by providing a supportive, nurturing environment — or indirect, through modeling, or, more likely, an interaction of both. Additionally, it has been hypothesized that there may be significant genetic transmission of factors that predispose a child to higher levels of physical activity. Parents who are active are expected to raise active children. The timing of such influences may be crucial: there may be a stronger association between parental and child behaviors than between parental and adolescent behaviors (Nichol, Pickett, & Janssen, 2009).

Peers are important socializing agents, especially during early childhood, when children are growing and learning at their most rapid pace. Children at this stage tend to imitate what other children do, and when they observe their peers engaging in physical activity, they are likely to participate as well.

School Environments and Physical Activity

Schools are important agents of socialization because it is often there that many children are first exposed to a variety of sport activities as participants. A growing body of research demonstrates the role of schools in shaping student physical activity patterns. Studies have shown that both the social and physical environments of schools are associated with student physical activity behaviors. Specifically, social aspects of the school environment — such as teacher support and the use of physical activity as a form of appreciation — and physical aspects — such as the number of recreational features and the accessibility of equipment outside school hours — are associated with physical activity participation among children (Bower et al., 2008).

Schools can promote physical activity in many ways, including through physical education classes, opportunities for activity during breaks in the school day, extracurricular sports and activity-based events, and access to recreational facilities and equipment. Research found that schools characterized by high sports team participation were significantly associated with student physical activity, whereas general encouragement for physical activity and PE class attendance alone were not (Leatherdale, Manske, Faulkner, Arbour, & Bredin, 2010). Although participation in sports is clearly associated with physical activity at the student level, less is known about the broader impact of a school environment that promotes sports and physical activity on the wider student population (Nichol et al., 2009).

The media may effectively serve a socializing role through the process of observational learning. Children may develop an interest in a physical activity because they observed it — for example, on television — which can motivate them to try the activity themselves.