Little is known about predictors of change over time in the intensity of the leisure and recreational activity participation of children with physical disabilities. This study reports data from 402 children/ youth with physical disabilities (216 boys and 186 girls), ages 6 to 15, collected on three occasions over a 3-year period. Latent growth curve modeling was used to determine the significant child, family, and community predictors of change in the intensity of their participation in five types of activities (recreational, active physical, social, skill-based, and self-improvement). Differences in predictors were examined for boys versus girls, and older versus younger children. Significant predictors of change were found only for recreational and active physical activities. The findings indicate that factors associated with change in participation intensity are dependent on the type of activity, and vary as a function of children's sex and age. Implications for research and service delivery are discussed, including the importance of a contextualized, holistic, and developmental approach to intervention. Keywords participation; activity; longitudinal; leisure; recreation; children; disability The intensity of children's participation in leisure and recreational activities is associated with their well-being (Brown & Gordon, 1987;Larson & Verma, 1999). A variety of positive developmental processes and related outcomes result from participation in different types of activities, including improved school outcomes (Masten & Coatsworth, 1998) and greater social adjustment (i.e., fewer emotional and behavioral problems, reduced loneliness) (Sandler et al., 2004;Simpkins et al., 2005). There is a critical gap, however, in our knowledge of the factors that promote the participation of children with disabilities (Mancini et al., 2000). Their participation in everyday activities is a goal shared by parents, service providers, and organizations involved in children's Corresponding author: Dr. Gillian King (gking27@uwo.ca).
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Author ManuscriptChild Health Care. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 November 9.
NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript rehabilitation . Remarkably, the factors that enable, promote, and reinforce the participation of children with physical disabilities have not been comprehensively studied.In comparison with peers without disabilities, adolescents and young adults with disabilities display less diverse participation (Margalit, 1981), greater participation in passive recreational activities (such as watching television) (Brown & Gordon, 1987), and less social participation (Stevenson et al., 1997). Furthermore, boys and girls with physical disabilities participate in different activities compared to their able-bodied peers (King et al., 2008). Little is known, however, about the influence of child, family, and environmental factors on changes over time in the intensity of children's participation in various activities, and about the...