Using participatory approaches with children to better understand their physical activity behaviour

Aims and objectives: The importance of childhood physical activity is widely recognised. Helping children to articulate their opinions is a crucial factor in improving their health and well-being, yet the field is predominantly focused on adult-led quantitative methods and lacks deeper understanding from a child perspective. Methods: This paper draws on experiences from a Danish study in which children depicted their physical activity behaviour in go-along group interviews in schoolyards (n = 111), and a Scottish study in which children photographed or drew meaningful places and discussed physical activity in these places (n = 25). Results: The benefits and challenges associated with using participatory methods to understand how children perceive the environment in relation to their physical activity behaviour are described. Conclusion: Findings contribute to the literature by suggesting that participatory approaches are valuable in capturing children’s perceptions of physical activity behaviour in outdoor environments

Life after sport? Examining the transfer of life skills following withdrawal from sport

Researchers have found convincing data to suggest sport is a suitable environment for adolescents to develop intrapersonal and interpersonal life skills. However, as of yet, there is little evidence suggesting that young females transfer skills learnt in sport into other life domains, and whether females adolescents are able to retain the suggested life skills once they have withdrawn from sport. I sought to extend the literature on transferable skills from sport to other life domains by considering female adolescent perspectives after they have withdrawn from sport. My research was driven by three primary questions; Do the perceived benefits associated with sport continue after withdrawal? Are the perceived benefits associated with sport participation transferable across life domains? Do different sport environments cause diverse life skills to develop? Ten females aged 15 and 16 years old voluntarily attended formal semi structured interviews. Via inductive thematic analysis, three global themes emerged: 1) how skills are developed through sport 2) potential transferable skills and outcomes and 3) prevention of transferable skills. Through a qualitative methodological approach my results suggested experiential learning to be the most productive way of life skills development, and that in order for female youths to gain a range of life skills, the type, and environment of sport should vary, in particular female adolescents should be exposed to some form of competitive sport as the environment was reported by the girls to be the most conducive to life skills development, retention, and transfer. Ideas for future research conclude the study, such as, researchers may choose to explore a longer gap between participation and withdrawal, a more extensive break between the two may result in more reflection, and possible realisation of iii more life skills. Researchers could also investigate an equivalent approach with male adolescents to establish any comparisons between genders

Exploring children’s perceptions of their local environment in relation to time spent outside

This study aims to understand how children perceive their environment, exploring the affordances children perceive to influence their physical activity (PA) behaviour when outside. Participants included boys and girls aged 10–12 years (n = 15) living in Scotland. Children's visual and verbal representations of their perceived environment were analysed to assess environmental determinants of PA. The findings suggested that physical affordances that offer a sense of risk were important to children's play spaces. Social affordances influenced where the children went in their environment and the features they utilised as part of play behaviour; strangers were considered threatening depending on whether the activity was recognised

Children’s perceptions of their outdoor environment in relation to their physical activity behaviours: exploring differences by urbanicity and area level deprivation

Background – Physical activity (PA) has been shown to have numerous physical (e.g., reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes and obesity) and psychological (e.g., improved mental well-being, and reduction in levels of stress and depression) benefits for childhood health. Despite the known benefits, childhood PA levels are low in Scotland, where less than 20% of children achieve the recommended daily guidelines. Evidence suggests that time spent outside is positively associated with achieving higher PA levels. Understanding what might encourage children to spend time outside in their neighbourhood could inform the development of interventions aimed at encouraging children to be more active. Children from different socio-spatial neighbourhoods may perceive and utilise their neighbourhood differently, influencing how they spend their free time. This PhD thesis examines how children from diverse settings perceive their neighbourhood in relation to their outdoor activity behaviours. Methods – This thesis takes a qualitative, multi-methodological approach, towards understanding 10-11 year old children’s perceptions of their environment in relation to their time spent outside through the lens of Gibson’s theory of affordances. A pilot study (n=15, 5 boys, 10 girls) was conducted to test the feasibility of the methods. For the main study, the children (n=25, 12 boys, 13 girls) were from different levels of area deprivation and from varying levels of urbanicity. Data collection methods included photo voice, drawings, focus groups or interviews. The participants were asked to document features within their environment (via photographs and drawings) that they felt influenced their time outside. They were then asked to participate in either a focus group or a one-to-one interview. The data collection process took place between May and September 2015. Findings – Children’s perceptions of their neighbourhood environments are complex, and numerous differences were found to be dependent on area of residence. Children from rural areas appeared to be influenced more by physical affordances whereas children living in urban settings were influenced more by social affordances, specifically their friends. Children living in more deprived neighbourhoods spoke of needing more PA opportunities in their neighbourhood compared to children living in more affluent neighbourhoods, suggesting that inequalities may still exist between higher and lower area deprivation. Many of the children considered current play equipment too boring, and lacked challenge or risk. The children desired equipment that better suited their perceived capabilities. This thesis found that children were more likely to spend time outside for psychological reasons, such as relaxation. Conclusion – Through the use of novel methodology in this subject area, this thesis adds an original contribution to the literature by exploring children’s environmental perceptions in relation to PA, and by looking at how setting might influence these perceptions. This thesis found that children perceive their environment differently dependent on the context of their lives, suggesting that initiatives to increase childhood PA could differ depending on residential setting. Additionally, policy may emphasize the psychological benefits to children as opposed to the physical benefits. Highlighting benefits such as relaxation, happiness and excitement may be more conducive to increasing PA among this age group than focusing on benefits such as weight management and cardiovascular health