Systematic review of the correlates of outdoor play and time among children aged 3-12 years

Abstract

Background Due to the myriad of benefits of children’s outdoor play and time, there is increasing concern over its decline. This systematic review synthesized evidence on the correlates of outdoor play and outdoor time among children aged 3-12 years. Methods A total of 12 electronic databases in five different languages (Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese) were searched between October 28, 2019 and July 27, 2020. Covidence software was used for screening and Microsoft Excel with a predesigned coding form was used for data extraction. Evidence was synthesized and correlates were categorized using the socioecological model framework. Results Based on 107 studies representing 188,498 participants and 422 childcare centers from 29 countries, 85 studies examined potential correlates of outdoor play while 23 studies examined that of outdoor time (one examined both). The duration of outdoor play and outdoor time ranged between 60 and 165 min/d and 42-240 min/d, respectively. Out of 287 (outdoor play) and 61 (outdoor time) potential correlates examined, 111 correlates for outdoor play and 33 correlates for outdoor time were identified as significant correlates. Thirty-three variables were identified as key/common correlates of outdoor play/time, including eight correlates at the individual level (e.g., sex/gender, race/ethnicity, physical activity), 10 correlates at the parental level (e.g., parental attitude/support/behavior, parenting practice), nine at the microsystem level (e.g., proximal home/social environment such as residence type, peer influence), three at the macrosystem/community level (e.g., availability of space children can play), and three at the physical ecology/pressure for macrosystem change level (e.g., seasonality, rurality). No key correlates were found at the institutional level. Conclusions Individual, parental, and proximal physical (home) and social environments appear to play a role in children’s outdoor play and time. Ecological factors (i.e., seasonality, rurality) also appear to be related to outdoor play/time. Evidence was either inconsistent or lacking at institutional and macrosystem/community levels. Standardizing terminology and measures of outdoor play/time is warranted. Future work should investigate the interactions and processes of multiple variables across different levels of socioecological modelling to better understand the mechanisms through which outdoor play/time opportunities can be optimized for children while paying special attention to varying conditions in which children are born, live, and play.

Parental and Peer Support Matters: A Broad Umbrella of the Role of Perceived Social Support in the Association between Children’s Perceived Motor Competence and Physical Activity

“…Whereas parental support was moderately related to PA engagement, perceived peer support was loosely associated with PA. During childhood, parental support seems to impact motor development and PA, which is in agreement with our findings involving 8–12-year-old children, whereas as children transit into adolescence, the impact of peer support gains relevance [ 30 , 58 ], i.e., parents seem to be the primary socializing agents for children’s PA engagement formation throughout childhood and thus, represent a key factor to target [ 70 ]. A recent systematic review has shown that parents’ support is an effective correlate for PA engagement in terms of co-participation, family involvement, emotional, informational, companionship, and instrumental [ 58 ], which supports the notions of the bioecological theory [ 26 ]. Bronfrenbrenner [ 26 , 68 ] postulated the existence of different systems to understand human development by interrelated ecological levels (i.e., microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem).…”

“…In the social environment, there are multiple reasons associated with the downward general trend in children’s PA (e.g., parental concerns, changing social norms around children’s independent mobility, an increase in sedentary leisure activities, and/or screen time, etc. ), which limit children’s PA engagement [ 58 ]. It is thus important to recognize the underlying social mechanisms that explain children’s PA to understand their movement behavior and/or to prepare interventions focused on children’s health [ 15 ].…”

“…Among others, the microsystem encompasses social roles and interpersonal relations experienced by the individual in a particular social setting that foster or limit engagement in activities. So, taking into account that identifying correlates of health behavior seems to be critical for developing and refining successful behavior change interventions for health [ 27 , 58 ], the current study provided insight by highlighting the importance of social support as a correlate of children’s PA engagement and, consequently, motor development. Thus, in line with Hulteen et al [ 24 ], it seems relevant to start incorporating new psychological aspects to help researchers, teachers, and stakeholders to understand the association of the factors in children’s motor development with their health.…”

Relating outdoor play to sedentary behavior and physical activity in youth - results from a cohort study

“…Other studies investigated associations between habitual physical activity, sedentary behavior, and outdoor play. A recent systematic review about correlates of outdoor play in children between three and 12 years supported positive associations between outdoor play and physical activity, while there was largely no relationship observed between screen time or screen exposure as a proxy for sedentary behavior and outdoor play [18]. Again, most of the studies were cross-sectional and most of the studies looked at children in preschool age [18].…”

“…A recent systematic review about correlates of outdoor play in children between three and 12 years supported positive associations between outdoor play and physical activity, while there was largely no relationship observed between screen time or screen exposure as a proxy for sedentary behavior and outdoor play [18]. Again, most of the studies were cross-sectional and most of the studies looked at children in preschool age [18]. Fewer studies investigated associations between habitual outdoor play, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and sedentary behavior in older children: In 11year-old children, high levels of outdoor play were associated with more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and less sedentary behavior on weekend days for boys and girls, while on weekdays, these associations were only observed for boys [19].…”