Examining Influences of Parenting Styles and Practices on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors in Latino Children in the United States: Integrative Review

Abstract

BackgroundResearch indicates that parents influence their children’s physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviors (SB) through their parenting styles and practices.ObjectiveThe objectives of this paper were to evaluate existing research examining the associations between parenting styles, parenting practices, and PA and SB among Latino children aged between 2 and 12 years, highlight limitations of the existing research, and generate suggestions for future research.MethodsThe method of this integrative review was informed by methods developed by Whittemore and Knafl, which allow for the inclusion of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews Meta-Analyses guidelines, five electronic academic databases (PubMed, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and CINAHL) were searched for peer-reviewed, full-text papers published in English. Of the 641 unique citations identified, 67 full-text papers were retrieved, and 16 were selected for review.ResultsThe majority of the 16 reviewed studies were conducted with predominantly Mexican American or Mexican immigrant samples, and only 1 study examined the association between parenting styles and Latino children’s PA and SB. Most (n=15) reviewed studies assessed the influence of parenting practices on children’s PA and SB, and they provide good evidence that parenting practices such as offering verbal encouragement, prompting the child to be physically active, providing logistic support, engaging and being involved in PA, monitoring, and offering reinforcement and rewards encourage, facilitate, or increase children’s PA. The examined studies also provide evidence that parenting practices, such as setting rules and implementing PA restrictions due to safety concerns, weather, and using psychological control discourage, hinder, or decrease children’s PA.ConclusionsBecause this review found a very small number of studies examining the relationship between parenting styles and Latino children’s PA and SB, additional research is needed. Given that the majority of reviewed studies were conducted with predominantly Mexican American or Mexican immigrant samples, additional research examining parenting styles, parenting practices, and PA and SB among multiethnic Latino groups is needed to design interventions tailored to the needs of this ethnically diverse population group.

Parenting practices that may encourage and discourage physical activity in preschool-age children of Brazilian immigrant families: A qualitative study

“…Additionally, mothers identified providing logistic support, offering verbal encouragement, praise and motivational support, supervising, watching and teaching the child to engage in various types of PA, and prompting child to be physically active as parenting practices that encourage or facilitate preschool-age children’s PA. These findings are consistent with prior studies demonstrating the positive influence of these parenting practices on children’s PA [ 3 , 17 , 22 , 23 , 38 , 47 ]. Evidence from research with Hispanic parents shows that logistic support can positively impact children’s PA [ 48 – 51 ].…”

“…A native Brazilian-Portuguese speaker (ACL) trained in qualitative research methods moderated all FGDs in Portuguese using a semi-structured discussion guide that was developed based on previous systematic reviews of parenting practices [ 2 , 16 , 17 ] and explored participants’ views and experiences about: 1) how parents encourage or facilitate their preschool-age children to be physically active, and 2) how parents may unintentionally discourage or inhibit their preschool-age children from being physically active. In addition, the guide explored mothers’ information seeking about PA and screen time, and beliefs and practices related to sleep and bedtime routines of their preschool-aged children.…”

“…Although a thematic approach was used for the initial data analyses and the codebook did not include an a priori determined list of parenting approaches, it was evident during analysis that the self-described strategies were amenable to categorization based on well-recognized types of parenting practices [ 2 , 3 , 16 , 17 , 22 , 23 , 38 ]. Therefore, in a second phase of the data analyses, identified themes were sorted and grouped based on PA parenting practices identified in prior systematic reviews and studies [ 2 , 3 , 16 , 17 , 22 , 23 , 38 ]. In addition, descriptive statistics and frequencies were calculated for data collected in the socio-demographic survey using Microsoft Excel 2008.…”

“…Parents play a unique and central role in influencing their children’s behaviors, including their PA habits [ 1 – 3 ], and this influence is particularly important during the habit-forming years of early childhood [ 1 , 15 , 16 ]. Existing scientific evidence suggests that one way in which parents influence their children’s PA levels and behaviors is through their parenting practices [ 2 , 3 , 17 ]. Parenting practices are the specific sets of behaviors that characterize parents’ interactions with their children, and the beliefs and attitudes that underpin these interactions [ 18 – 21 ].…”

The association between parental views on dietary quality and physical activity levels

“…Findings from this study suggest that parental views on raising children do not have an association with children’s physical activity. According to Lindsay et al (2018), a certain parenting style is not enough to lead to a change in physical activity behaviour; there are stronger factors such as parenting practices that may lead to an increase in children’s physical activity behaviour (Lindsay et al, 2018). These practices may include enrolling a child in a sports programme, the provision of logistic support such as transporting children, words of encouragement and the parent being involved in physical activity with the child.…”