Effect of a 6-Week Active Play Intervention on Fundamental Movement Skill Competence of Preschool Children

This study examined the effectiveness of an active play intervention on fundamental movement skills among 3- to 5-year-old children from deprived communities. In a cluster randomized controlled trial design, six preschools received a resource pack and a 6-week local authority program involving staff training with help implementing 60-minute weekly sessions and postprogram support. Six comparison preschools received a resource pack only. Twelve skills were assessed at baseline, postintervention, and at a 6-month follow-up using the Children’s Activity and Movement in Preschool Study Motor Skills Protocol. One hundred and sixty-two children (Mean age = 4.64 ± 0.58 years; 53.1% boys) were included in the final analyses. There were no significant differences between groups for total fundamental movement skill, object-control skill or locomotor skill scores, indicating a need for program modification to facilitate greater skill improvements

The Human–Nature Relationship and Its Impact on Health: A Critical Review

Within the past four decades, research has been increasingly drawn toward understanding whether there is a link between the changing human–nature relationship and its impact on people’s health. However, to examine whether there is a link requires research of its breadth and underlying mechanisms from an interdisciplinary approach. This article begins by reviewing the debates concerning the human–nature relationship, which are then critiqued and redefined from an interdisciplinary perspective. The concept and chronological history of “health” is then explored, based on the World Health Organization’s definition. Combining these concepts, the human–nature relationship and its impact on human’s health are then explored through a developing conceptual model. It is argued that using an interdisciplinary perspective can facilitate a deeper understanding of the complexities involved for attaining optimal health at the human–environmental interface

Values’ family flow: associations between grandparents, parents and adolescent children

The present study analyzed cross-generational trends in values and family patterns of value association across three generations (grandparents, parents and children). In this study, 101 family triads with adolescent children (N = 303) completed questionnaires assessing personal values. Grandparents’ values (Generation 1) were measured through parents’ perceptions of their own parents. In general, parents prioritize collectivist values, and there is an increased focus on individualist values across generations. Fathers’ individualist values mediate the relationship between their perceptions of grandfathers’ individualist values and grandchildren’s individualist values. There is no family association of collectivist values. The article outlines the implications of the increasing adherence to individualism and hypothesizes that the adherence of individualist values across families with adolescent children is a pathway to maintenance of family cohesion and cooperation. The role of fathers and the paternal lineage on adolescents’ acquisition of values are discussed.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia [grant number SFRH/BD/62182/200