Parenting Behaviors, Perceived Competence, and Exercise of Girls in Middle Childhood

Abstract

Parental socialization patterns (permissiveness, authoritarianism, authoritativeness), parental exercise, and perceived competence influence children's vigorous physical activity according to sport socialization theory. In this study of 155 healthy public school fifth-bade (51%) and sixth-grade (49%) girls and their parents, the parents were primarily Caucasian (60.4%), high school or college educated (88.9%), employed in professional, managerial, or technical support occupations (63%), and in good health (90.6%).

Correlation, regression, and analysis of variance statistics revealed that girls' perceived athletic competence was significantly and positively related to girls' exercise (r = .27, p = .001); that girls' exercise and (a) perceived cognitive competence ( r = .03, p = .69) and (b) perceived global self-worth (r = .14, p = .08) were not significantly correlated; that a one-variable model explained 8% of the variance in girls' exercise [F(3, 151) = 4.33, p = .006]; that girls' exercise and perceived social competence were positively and significantly related (r = .22, p = .007); and that girls' exercise and paternal and maternal psychological autonomy-granting were significantly and negatively related (r = −.23, p = .004; r = −.17, p = .03 respectively). Girls' exercise did not differ by perceived paternal or maternal socialization pattern [F(2,67) = 1.75, p = .18; F(2,65) = .73, p = .49 respectively]. Girls' exercise was not related to paternal moderate exercise (r = .06, p = .51), paternal vigorous exercise (r = .10, p = .26), maternal moderate exercise (r = −.07, p = .42), or maternal vigorous exercise (r = .08, p = .34).

Perceived athletic competence, perceived social competence and perceived parental psychological autonomy-granting were related to girls' exercise, and athletic competence perceptions explained a small amount of the exercise variance for girls. Despite theory, three parental socialization patterns and parental exercise were not related to fifth- and sixth-grade girls' exercise. It can be concluded that selected propositions of the theory may have meaningful application for improving girls' exercise habits, that selected propositions of the sport socialization theory may not apply to girls, and that the relationships between parental behaviors and girls' exercise need further exploration.