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Zhu W, Luo X, Werneck AO, Pindus D, Kramer L, Kramer AF, Hillman CH, Herold F, Zhang Z, Zou L. Nature and success: Outdoor play is linked to school readiness. Complement Ther Clin Pract 2024; 57:101895. [PMID: 39180951 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2024.101895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2024] [Revised: 07/21/2024] [Accepted: 08/12/2024] [Indexed: 08/27/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND and Purpose: Outdoor play is widely acknowledged for its benefits to physical health and psychological well-being, yet its relationship with school readiness remains understudied in preschoolers. To address this gap in the literature, this study investigated how outdoor play relates to cognitive and psychosocial development among a nationally representative sample of preschoolers. MATERIALS AND METHOD Data on the duration of outdoor play (on weekdays and weekends) and specific cognitive and psychosocial outcome variables (i.e., early learning skills, self-regulation, social-emotional development, and flourishing) were collected via questionnaires provided to the caregivers of preschoolers. Logistic regressions were performed to examine the associations between outdoor play with cognitive and psychosocial outcomes while adjusting for covariates and calculate the odds ratio with 95 % confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS Among the 10,682 preschoolers (i.e., 3-5y) included in this study (i.e., 5558 boys, Mage = 3.98 ± 0.99 years), there was a lower percentage of preschoolers engaged in outdoor play for over 3 h per day on weekdays (33.39 %) compared to weekends (56.85 %). Outdoor play in preschoolers is positively associated with various domains of school readiness, and engaging in outdoor play for more than 3 h per day is associated with more beneficial outcomes. CONCLUSION The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that promoting outdoor play among preschoolers can be an effective strategy for enhancing cognitive, social, and emotional development in this age group although further intervention studies are required to buttress this assumption empirically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weijia Zhu
- Body-Brain-Mind Laboratory, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, 3688 Nanhai Avenue, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xun Luo
- Body-Brain-Mind Laboratory, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, 3688 Nanhai Avenue, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China
| | - André Oliveira Werneck
- Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Brazil
| | - Dominika Pindus
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA; Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Laurie Kramer
- Family Resiliency Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Applied Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Arthur F Kramer
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA; Center for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Charles H Hillman
- Center for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Department of Physical Therapy, Movement, & Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Fabian Herold
- Research Group Degenerative and Chronic Diseases, Movement, Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, University of Potsdam, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Zhihao Zhang
- Body-Brain-Mind Laboratory, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, 3688 Nanhai Avenue, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Liye Zou
- Body-Brain-Mind Laboratory, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, 3688 Nanhai Avenue, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China
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Kuhaneck H, Bundy A, Fabrizi S, Lynch H, Moore A, Román-Oyola R, Stagnitti K, Waldman-Levi A. Play as Occupation: The State of Our Science and a Research Agenda for the Profession. Am J Occup Ther 2024; 78:7804185150. [PMID: 38861551 DOI: 10.5014/ajot.2024.050824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Occupational therapists view play through a unique lens. Considering play as a human occupation, and one to which all people have a right, places occupational therapists among a special group of professionals championing play. This State of the Science article seeks to increase awareness regarding the occupational therapy profession's contributions and to situate those contributions within the larger body of literature on play while also promoting further study of play as an occupation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Kuhaneck
- Heather Kuhaneck, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, is Professor and Program Director, Occupational Therapy Program, Recreation, Tourism, and Sports Management Department, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven;
| | - Anita Bundy
- Anita Bundy, ScD, OT/L, FAOTA, FOTARA, is Professor and Department Head, Department of Occupational Therapy, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
| | - Sarah Fabrizi
- Sarah Fabrizi, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, is Associate Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers
| | - Helen Lynch
- Helen Lynch, PhD, MSc, Dip Montessori, Dip COT, is Co-Coordinator of P4Play and Senior Lecturer, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University College Cork, Ireland
| | - Alice Moore
- Alice Moore, PhD, MScOT, BSc(Hons.)OT, is Research and Impact Lead, The Crann Centre, Cork, Ireland
| | - Rosa Román-Oyola
- Rosa Román-Oyola, PhD, MEd, OTR/L, is Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy Program, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Karen Stagnitti
- Karen Stagnitti, PhD, BOccThy, GCHE, is Emeritus Professor, School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Amiya Waldman-Levi
- Amiya Waldman-Levi, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, is Clinical Associate Professor and Director of Scholarship and Research, Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program, Yeshiva University, New York
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Tonge KL, Mavilidi M, Jones RA. An updated systematic review of correlates of children's physical activity and sedentary time in early childhood education services. Child Care Health Dev 2024; 50:e13265. [PMID: 38657131 DOI: 10.1111/cch.13265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early childhood education services (ECE) continue to be a key setting to promote physical activity and limit sedentary behaviour. Thus, the aim of this study was to (1) provide an updated systematic review of correlates of physical activity and sedentary behaviour among children in ECE settings and (2) discuss changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviour correlates among children in ECEC settings over time. METHODS A systematic search of eight databases identified 40 studies published between 2015 and 2023 that met the inclusion criteria. The variables were categorized into four domains (child, educator, physical environmental and organizational). Fifty-eight variables were identified. RESULTS For data from 2015 to 2023, strong associations were identified in all domains (child, educator, physical environmental and organizational) for physical activity, yet no strong associations for sedentary behaviour were identified. Aggregated data (i.e., combining data from previous review and this review) showed strong associations with children's physical activity and age, motor coordination and sex (child), educator behaviour and presence (educator), presence and size of outdoor environments (physical environmental) and active opportunities and service quality (organizational). For sedentary behaviour, sex, outdoor environments and active opportunities were strongly associated in the combined data. CONCLUSION The correlates of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in ECE settings continue to be multi-dimensional and span different domains. Variables such as educator behaviours and intentionality, provision of active opportunities, use of outdoor space and service quality should be the key focus area for improving physical activity and sedentary behaviour levels of young children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L Tonge
- Early Start, Faculty of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Education, Faculty of The Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Myrto Mavilidi
- Early Start, Faculty of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Education, Faculty of The Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Rachel A Jones
- Early Start, Faculty of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Education, Faculty of The Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
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Koepp AE, Gershoff ET. Leveraging an intensive time series of young children's movement to capture impulsive and inattentive behaviors in a preschool setting. Child Dev 2024. [PMID: 38655639 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Studying within-person variability in children's behavior is frequently hindered by challenges collecting repeated observations. This study used wearable accelerometers to collect an intensive time series (2.7 million observations) of young children's movement at school (N = 62, Mage = 4.5 years, 54% male, 74% Non-Hispanic White) in 2021. Machine learning analyses indicated that children's typical forward acceleration was strongly correlated with lower teacher-reported inhibitory control and attention (r = -.69). Using forward movement intensity as a proxy for impulsivity, we partitioned the intensive time series and found that (1) children modulated their behavior across periods of the school day, (2) children's impulsivity increased across the school week, and (3) children with greater impulsivity showed greater variability in behavior across days.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew E Koepp
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Elizabeth T Gershoff
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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Koepp AE, Lanza K, Byrd-Williams C, Bryan AE, Gershoff ET. Ambient Temperature Increases and Preschoolers' Outdoor Physical Activity. JAMA Pediatr 2023; 177:539-540. [PMID: 36939692 PMCID: PMC10028534 DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.0067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 03/21/2023]
Abstract
This cross-sectional study evaluates the association of high outdoor temperatures with children’s engagement in physical activity during play.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew E. Koepp
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
| | - Kevin Lanza
- Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston School of Public Health Austin Campus, Austin, Texas
| | - Courtney Byrd-Williams
- Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston School of Public Health Austin Campus, Austin, Texas
| | - Amy E. Bryan
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
| | - Elizabeth T. Gershoff
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
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Preschoolers’ executive functions following indoor and outdoor free play. Trends Neurosci Educ 2022; 28:100182. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tine.2022.100182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Revised: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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