Parental influences on parent-reported motor skills in young children with developmental disabilities

Parental physical activity support for parents of children with disabilities in Saudi Arabia

Physical activity (PA) is crucial for promoting physical, cognitive, and psychosocial health. Unfortunately, children with disabilities spend less time engaging in PA compared to their typically developing peers. Parents play a crucial role in supporting children with disabilities to increase their level of PA. However, there is scant research on the factors linked to parental support for PA among non-Western parents of children with disabilities, particularly in the context of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, to address this gap in the literature, the current study aimed to (i) measure parental support for encouraging PA in children with disabilities in Saudi Arabia, and (ii) examine the demographic factors associated with such support (e.g., family income, age of the child, type of disability, and parents' educational background). The sample included Saudi Arabian parents of children with disabilities (N = 239; fathers: n = 123; mothers: n = 116) who completed the Arabic version of the Parental Physical Activity Support Questionnaire for Parents of Children with Disabilities (PPSQ for PCD). The findings revealed that parental support for children with disabilities to engage in PA typically occurs less than once a week, indicating an inadequate level of support. A generalized linear model analysis demonstrated that several independent demographic variables are associated with overall parental support for PA among children with disabilities: participant age, educational background, parental engagement in PA, age of the child with a disability, disability status, club participation, knowledge of legislation or policies related to the rights of children with disabilities, and number of children in the family. The findings emphasize the significance of raising awareness among parents of children with disabilities to support their children in participating in PA, as well as addressing the barriers that hinder such support.

Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and quality of life in children with autism: insights from Romania and Greece

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated sedentarism in children, including those with autism. Given the importance of the topic for long-term health, this study aimed to explore the post-pandemic relationship between physical activity, sedentary behaviours and quality of life (QOL) in children with autism from Romania and Greece.

Methods

An online questionnaire collected information regarding physical activity levels in children and their parents, children's sedentary behaviours and QOL from 83 Romanian parents (m1age = 40.1; sd1age = 6.37) and 42 Greek parents (m2age = 39.5; sd2age = 5.45) between March and July 2022.

Results

Most Greek children (95%) had 2 or 3 weekly hours of physical education at school/kindergarten, while only 64% of Romanian children had the same level of physical education. Romanian parents reported being more active (χ2weekdays= 33.7, df = 3, p < .001; (χ2leisure= 41.8, df = 2, p < .001) than the Greek counterparts. Contrary to expectations, the parents' physical activity did not correlate with the child's physical activity. Sedentary behaviour time was significantly higher in Greek than Romanian children during working days and the weekends. Sedentary behaviour during weekdays predicted the child' QOL.

Conclusions

This exploratory study offers insight into Romanian and Greek children's patterns of physical and sedentary activities. The results stress the need to increase physical activity and decrease sedentary behaviours in children with autism from Romania and Greece. The practical implications and limits of this exploratory approach were further discussed.

Parental Behavior Influences on Motor Skill Development in Young Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study

Young children with developmental disabilities (DDs) experience motor skill deficits compared to their peers without disabilities. Even though parents play an important role in developing their children's motor skills, it has not been widely studied how parental behaviors influence motor skill development in young children with DDs. Therefore, the current study has two main purposes: (a) to examine early motor skill development of preschool aged children (3-5 years) with DDs longitudinally over a two-year period and (b) to longitudinally examine the relationship between parental behaviors and the motor skill development of young children with DDs. Fundamental motor skills (locomotor and object control skills) in 64 young children with DDs and their parent's behavior was measured at five time points when children were between the ages of three and five years. Multilevel modeling was used to examine motor skill progression in young children with DDs and to evaluate the longitudinal relationship between parenting behaviors and motor skill development in young children with DDs. Findings indicated that young children with DDs develop their motor skills in a non-linear fashion across two years. Young children with DDs who have parents with one standard deviation higher (+ SD) in the positive parental behavior than average showed a statistically significant linear increase in the standard scores of locomotor and object-control skills with age (b = 0.27, p = 0.01; b = 0.22, p < 0.01, respectively). This study highlights the importance of positive parenting behaviors in regard to promoting motor skills in young children with DDs.

Understanding parental physical activity support in parents of children with developmental disabilities across two different countries

BACKGROUND

It remains unclear if there is a difference between parental physical activity (PA) support in parents of children with developmental disabilities (DDs) and parental PA support in parents of children without DDs across countries.

AIMS

The purposes of the current study were to examine parental PA support in parents of children with and without DDs from the United States and South Korea and to examine their parental PA support mechanism based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB).

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

An online survey was used to measure demographic information, parental PA support, and four constructs of TPB in parents with and without DDs in the two countries (n = 277). One-way analysis of variance was used to compare parental PA support and the TPB constructs among the participants. Two separate path analyses were performed to examine associations between the TPB constructs and parental PA support in American parents of children with and without disabilities and South Korean parents of children with and without disabilities.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

Parental PA support was significantly higher in American parents of children with DDs than in South Korean parents of children with DDs. Intention was significantly associated with parental PA support, and attitude was the strongest predictor for intention in both pathway models.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The difference in parental PA support between American parents of children with DDs and South Korean parents of children with DDs may exist. TPB-based intervention may be necessary in order to increase low parental PA support in South Korean parents of children with DDs.

Validity of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire’ 07 and Its Association with Physical Activity in Young Children with Developmental Disabilities

OBJECTIVES The purposes of the current study were to examine the construct and predictive validity, and reliability of the developmental coordination disorder questionnaire’ 07 (DCDQ’ 07) for young children with developmental disabilities (DD).METHODS 135 parents of young children with DD completed an online questionnaire which consisted of demographic information, the DCDQ’ 07, and a physical activity behavior questionnaire. A one-way analysis of variance was conducted to evaluate motor difficulties across different types of young children with DD. Exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha were used to examine construct validity and reliability of the DCDQ’ 07. Moreover, hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to examine the association between the DCDQ’ 07 scores and physical activity behaviors in young children with DD.RESULTS The one-way analysis of variance indicated that the DCDQ’ 07 scores were significantly different across different types of young children with DD = 6.66, p <0.001). The exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor solution, accounting for 64.34% of the variance of the DCDQ’ 07. Internal consistencies of the three factors were acceptable. One factor, control during movement, was a significant predictor for physical activity behaviors in young children with DD (β = 0.37, p < 0.01).CONCLUSIONS The DCDQ’ 07 may be a reliable and valid measure in examining motor difficulties in young children with DD. To promote physical activity behaviors in young children with DD, teaching and reinforcing motor skills need to be encouraged.

Physical activity behaviors in parents of children with disabilities: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Even though it has been widely known that parents influence physical activity (PA) behaviors of children without disabilities, there is no consensus about the effects of parents on PA behaviors of children with disabilities.

AIMS

The purpose of this study was to systematically review published literature examining the effects of parents on PA behaviors of children with disabilities.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed in three databases.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

The search identified 13 studies which met predetermined inclusion criteria. Of the 13 studies, 10 studies were conducted in United States and Canada. The remaining three studies were from three different countries: Italy, Australia, and Hong Kong. From the 13 studies, 24 parental factors were identified and categorized into four different dimensions: a) participating in PA intervention (four factors included), b) parental support (three factors included), c) parental PA role modeling (five factors included), and d) parental importance of child's PA (three factors included). Six factors across three dimensions (i.e., participating in PA intervention, parental support, parental importance of their child's PA) were significantly and positively associated with PA behaviors in children with disabilities, but no factor in parental PA role modeling was significantly associated with PA behaviors in children with disabilities.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The associations between parental factors and PA behaviors in children with disabilities varied depending on the dimensions of the parental factors. Further studies are warranted to confirm the association between parental factors and PA behaviors in children with disabilities, including cross-cultural comparisons.

The Effects of Motor Skill Interventions on Motor Skills in Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Literature Review

OBJECTIVES Children with developmental disabilities experience motor skill deficits from childhood. Participation in motor skill intervention may be a promising way to promote their motor skills. The purpose of this study was to review the effectiveness of motor skill interventions on motor skills in children with disabilities.METHODS To select relevant articles about motor skill interventions for children with developmental disabilities, a search of a database with pre-determined search terms and a manual search were implemented. After screening 476 articles, 21 studies were included in the current study. The studies were systematically summarized, and theories of motor development were discussed.RESULTS Participation in motor skill intervention may be a way to promote motor skills in children with developmental disabilities. Dynamic system theory, Newell’s model and Stodden’s model can be used as a framework for motor skill interventions.CONCLUSIONS Ample evidence exist indicating motor skill interventions are effective to promote motor skills in children with developmental disabilities. The motor skill interventions should be provided to children with developmental disabilities.