Children’s after-school physical activity participation in Hong Kong: Does family socioeconomic status matter?

Pui Yee Peggy CHEUNG

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and children’s physical activity (PA) behaviour during after-school hours. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Participants included 663 schoolchildren (aged between 10 and 13 years) and their parents from nine primary schools in Hong Kong. Parental SES status and the after-school PA levels of children were assessed using self-administered questionnaires. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine the association between parents’ education and income level and the type of activities in which children participated during after-school hours. Results: Results indicated that children with mother in the higher education group engaged in fewer time blocks of sports-type activity (high = 0.72 time blocks; medium = 1.04 time blocks; low = 1.17 time blocks). Compared with their counterparts, children with mothers in the higher income group were more engaged in sedentary activity (high = 5.33 time blocks; medium = 5.02 time blocks; low = 4.73 time blocks) within the eight 30-minute time blocks during after-school hours. Conclusion: The study describes how parental SES influences children’s after-school PA participation and highlights the importance of including a family perspective when designing a PA promotion programme targeting after-school hours. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s).
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)221-230
JournalHealth Education Journal
Volume76
Issue number2
Early online dateSept 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Citation

Cheung, P. P. Y. (2017). Children’s after-school physical activity participation in Hong Kong: Does family socioeconomic status matter?. Health Education Journal, 76(2), 221-230.

Keywords

  • After-school activities
  • Children
  • Hong Kong
  • Parental influence
  • Physical activity
  • Socioeconomic status

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Children’s after-school physical activity participation in Hong Kong: Does family socioeconomic status matter?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.