Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify patterns of child and family characteristics and behaviors, and to determine the association of those patterns with child participation in sports.
Methods: A questionnaire and anthropometric measures were used to collect data on 834 parents and their 6- to 10-year-old children. A principal component analysis identified child and parental patterns, which were tested for association with child participation in extracurricular sports (ES).
Results: Seven patterns were identified: (1) socio-economic, (2) child obesity, (3) parental TV viewing, (4) father's physical activity (PA), (5) mother's PA, (6) child screen time, and (7) parental reported barriers. After adjustment, patterns 1 and 7 (P < .001), pattern 2 (P = .01), and patterns 5 and 6 (P = .04) were significantly associated with the number of sports practiced by children while, patterns 1 and 7 (P < .001), pattern 2 (P = .03), and patterns 4 and 5 (P = .01) were significantly associated with frequency of participation in ES.
Conclusion: Future interventions to promote children's participation in sports should be based on a socio-ecological model and targeted to high-risk populations showing multiple risks such as a lower socio-economic status, inactive parents, or obese children.
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