A Mixed Methods Research Study of Parental Perception of Physical Activity and Quality of Life of Children Under Home Lock Down in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Household confinement due to the rapid spread of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 has brought very significant changes, such as the forced stay-at-home of children due to the closure of schools. This has meant drastic changes in the organization of daily life and restrictions on their activities, including exercise, which could affect the quality of life of the children due to its importance. In order to study the relationship between physical activity and psychological well-being of minors, a study has been carried out with Mixed Methods Research, combining survey methodology with transversal design with qualitative methodology using discourse analysis. A total of 234 parents of minors in Spain and several Spanish-speaking countries in America participated. The instrument was a questionnaire in Google Forms, which included the Kidscreen-27 quality of life scale. The results show significant differences in both the type of physical activity and its frequency due to age, and differences in parents’ perception of whether their children’s physical activity levels were sufficient or not, both on the health, mood and school subscales, and in the categorization of open responses referring to concerns due to the pandemic, analyzed with the ALCESTE technique. The relationship between physical activity of children and adolescents and quality of life is clearly concluded.

Estimating the Impact of the Pandemic on Children's Physical Health: A Scoping Review

“…Screen time during leisure hours such as social media use increased substantially in all age groups and in both genders, although they were seen as risk factors for reducing recreational PA in children during the pandemic 20,23 . Socio‐economic status, racial and ethnic minorities were also identified as the main determinants of varied PA and SB practices in children 20,24‐26 . Parents as role models for PA or SB practices, apprehension about outdoor play or gathering of wards, number of children in a family, single parents, and role of child in the family were also found to be key determinants that influence PA or SB practices 18,19,26,27 .…”

Physical Activity of Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Scoping Review

“…These constraining factors were also individual or context-specific. Individual constraining factors included the child’s age [ 20 , 37 , 45 , 50 , 52 , 53 ], feelings of stress [ 54 , 55 ], feeling comfortable at home [ 55 ], having a migration background [ 34 ], lower socioeconomic status (SES) [ 29 ], change to routines [ 27 ], pre-COVID sedentary time [ 44 ], pre-COVID activity levels [ 51 ], and mood states [ 56 ]. Context-related constraints included the caregiver’s level of education [ 32 , 33 , 34 ], living in an apartment [ 33 ], parent’s age [ 47 ], parent’s marital status [ 20 ], lack of playmates [ 57 ], family conflict [ 36 , 58 ], no outdoor space available [ 55 ], level of parents’ stress [ 49 ], lack of supervision [ 57 ], proximity to major roads [ 46 ], restrictions from COVID-19 [ 40 , 48 ], club training cancellation [ 40 ], enrolment in an early education center [ 33 ], and urban environment [ 51 , 59 ] (see Table 3 ).…”

The Need for Health Education and Vaccination—Importance of Teacher Training and Family Involvement

“…The fact that participants belonging to the HDI group I1 = Very High obtain higher scores when assessing teacher training and parental awareness of vaccines, is in line with what has been repeatedly pointed out by Swaminathan [ 39 ], chief scientist of the WHO: that in countries with lower Development Index (HDI), the consequences are very serious, giving rise to situations such as mistreatment, violence, abuse, exploitation, and, especially, interruption of vaccination processes, etc. [ 40 , 41 , 42 ]. Consequently, the crisis has aggravated the existing problems associated with the precarious conditions in which many families and children live.…”