Physical activity is important for good health, however, little is known about the specific settings where physical activity takes place. The purpose of this study by Cleland and colleagues was to investigate individual, social, and physical environmental influences on urban children's outdoor time over a period of five years.
Over 400 children aged 5 to 6 and 10 to 12, from elementary schools in Melbourne, Australia, participated in the study. Parents completed surveys about the amount of time their child spent outside, as well as surveys on a range of individual (e.g., outdoor and indoor tendencies), social (e.g., rules and restrictions and parental encouragement), and environmental factors (e.g., yard size and number of destinations within walking distance).
In analyzing the data, Cleland and colleagues found that children's time spent outdoors significantly declined over time among younger and older boys and older girls. When examining predictors of children's time spent outdoors over the five years, researchers found the following: Younger boys who had higher indoor tendencies spent less time outdoors, while younger boys with a lot of social opportunities spent more time outdoors. Older boys who had higher indoor tendencies spent less time outdoors, while older boys with higher outdoor tendencies spent more time outdoors. In addition, they found that older boys who did not have adult supervision spent less time outdoors. Younger girls who had higher indoor tendencies spent less time outdoors, while younger girls who received a lot of parental encouragement spent more time outdoors. Older girls who did not have adult supervision spent less time outdoors, while older girls who received a lot of parental encouragement spent more time outdoors.
Cleland and colleagues found a number of individual and social factors that were related to changes in children's time spent outdoors over the five-year-period. The researchers, however, did not find any evidence of linkages between physical environmental factors and children's time spent outdoors.
While this study relied on self-report measures, its longitudinal design and emphasis on a range of factors help advance our understanding about children's time outdoors. This study demonstrates the importance of individual and social factors in the amount of time children spend outside, which can help inform future research and intervention efforts.
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