PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BEHAVIOR OF HONG KONG CHILDREN

Abstract

The focus of the present study was to examine psychological (e.g, attitudes) and social (e.g., parental encouragement) factors that may relate to children's physical activity (PA) behavior. The interrelationship of these factors was examined in the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1985) in order to determine the extent of viability of integrating psychological and social factors in predicting children's PA behavior. Determinants of Intention (INT) and Behavior (BEH): Attitude (ATT), Subjective Norm (SN) and Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC), were measured with Brustad's (1996) instrument, Children's Attraction to PA, through which children's ATT towards PA, perceived parental factors and perceived physical competence were assessed. Participants (n = 428; 215 girls, 213 boys; age 8–11) were proportionally drawn from primary schools across the districts of Hong Kong. The TPB model was tested using structural equation modeling analysis with AMOS 4.0, and modified by referring to previous studies of TPB, including Smith and Biddle's (1999) and Godin's (1993). The final model indicated a good fit of the TPB for the present data (x2 = .701, p > .05; x2/df = .701; Goodness of Fit Index = .999; Comparative Fit Index = 1.000; Root Mean Square Residual = .085). Overall, ATT, SN and PBC predicted 22% of variance in INT, while 23% of variance of BEH was accounted for by INT, PBC and ATT. Significant correlations (p < .001) were found among the three predictors, ATT, SN and PBC. Peer Acceptance, an indicator originally presumed to be an indicator of ATT, was found to also significantly relate to the other predictors. This study provided support for this application of TPB through which psychological and social factors are integrated in examining children's PA behavior. In order to obtain a clearer picture of children's PA behavior, future research is necessary to address other factors, such as peers, in the prediction of children's INT and PA participation.