Enhancing fitness, enjoyment, and physical self-efficacy in primary school children: a DEDIPAC naturalistic study

Abstract

Background Physical activity (PA) (e.g., sport, physical education) promotes the psychophysical development of children, enhances health and wellbeing, offers opportunities for enjoyable experiences, and increases self-efficacy. Methods In the DEDIPAC framework, we conducted a naturalistic, cross-sectional study to evaluate the effects of a school-based, long-term intervention on fitness (i.e., cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, speed, and finger dexterity), body mass index (BMI), PA levels, sedentary levels, enjoyment, and physical self-efficacy in primary school children. A group of Italian children (41 boys and 39 girls, aged 10–11 years) involved in the project—named “Più Sport @ Scuola” (PS@S)—was compared with a group of children (41 boys and 39 girls) of the same age not involved in the project. Results After a four-year long attendance to the PS@S project, participants reported higher scores of cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, enjoyment, and physical self-efficacy compared to children not involved in the project. Correlation analysis results showed that muscular strength scores correlated positively with BMI, PA levels, and enjoyment. Flexibility of the upper body was positively related to physical self-efficacy, and negatively related to speed and BMI. Conclusions Findings suggest that the PS@S project enhanced fitness level, enjoyment, and physical self-efficacy of children.

Self-efficacy and enjoyment of physical activity in children: factorial validity of two pictorial scales

“…Self-efficacy and enjoyment have important consequences on individuals’ quality of life (Kahneman, Diener & Schwarz, 1999; Morano et al, 2016), which is a multidimensional construct that reflects one’s perceptions of fitness, life satisfaction, and wellbeing (Bowling, 2001). Enhancing children enjoyment for physical education and their actual and perceived physical abilities are expected to stimulate the adoption of an active lifestyle and improve health-related quality of life (Vitali et al, 2019). Given the importance of the two constructs, we have developed two new short pictorial scales, very easy to administer, and adequate for 6–7-year-olds.…”

“…In the physical activity and sport domains, enjoyment is conceptualized as a positive affective response resulting from participation that reflects generalized feelings typically described as pleasure, liking, and fun (Scanlan & Simons, 1992). The experience of enjoyment during physical education classes is associated with enhanced intrinsic motivation, increased physical activity participation, and the adoption of active and healthy lifestyles (Wallhead & Buckworth, 2004; Dishman et al, 2005; Jaakkola et al, 2017; Bortoli et al, 2018; Vitali et al, 2019). Thus, understanding enjoyment motives and other variables known to influence physical activity levels, successful motor experiences, and improvement of physical fitness can help researchers and practitioners design more effective intervention strategies to promote healthy lifestyles among school-aged children.…”

Active Breaks: A Pilot and Feasibility Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Physical Activity Levels in a School Based Intervention in an Italian Primary School

“…The school represents the environment in which children and adolescents spend most of their time; moreover, it gives access to children regardless of age, ethnicity, gender and socio-economic class. For these reasons, the school can be identified as the key environment and a powerful socializing setting in which to promote children's good habits and PA [9]. The specific role of the school in promoting health behaviour was investigated by various studies, which analysed how different school organization could affect the adoption of good practices and avoid risk factors for health, also during adulthood [10][11][12].…”

Gaelic4Girls—The Effectiveness of a 10-Week Multicomponent Community Sports-Based Physical Activity Intervention for 8 to 12-Year-Old Girls

“…This intervention component promoted the sense of inclusiveness, friendship and belonging to participants, while at this station, coaches also provided feedback to each of the participants in a fun non-competitive environment. The need for relatedness (SDT) and feeling connected to others (peers/coaches) can help cultivate the development of intrinsic motivation [ 97 ] for increased PA participation [ 20 , 98 , 99 ]. Previous studies have acknowledged that the experiences of enjoyment are a critical factor in motivating young individuals to continue participating in PA [ 100 , 101 ].…”

“…Furthermore, according to socio-ecological models [ 17 , 18 ], these associations between peer and parental factors and adolescent girls’ PA could be mediated by personal factors, suggesting that peer and parental factors may influence girls’ PA participation indirectly. This implies that these personal factors are also associated with adolescent girls’ PA, specifically self-efficacy [ 19 , 20 ]. In regard to specific PA programs for female youth, it is recommended to incorporate psychological skill instructions that aim to enhance self-esteem, positive body image, positive attitudes towards PA, and motivation to participate in PA [ 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”