Racial discrimination as a sociocultural barrier to leisure-based physical activity among West African immigrant children: proposing an adaptation model

Abstract

ABSTRACT Racism is a determining factor for health disparities and has an impact on leisure-based physical activity, particularly for recent immigrants adapting to socio-environmental systems in a host country. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of the sociocultural environment on active living among African adolescent children and further explore related pre- and post-migration experiences. Using purposive sampling, parents and children from Western-African families were interviewed. A constructivist grounded theory was used to create an adaptation model, which portrayed an idealized representation of internal, external, and transitional factors shaping physical activity engagement and opportunities of the children’s active living. The adaptation model demonstrated the role of structural external factors such as perceived discrimination on leisure participation, with an interconnection with intrinsic motivation and resiliency, while elucidating the moderating effect of transitional factors such as cultural adaptations between pre- and post-migration experiences.