The Influence of Parental Perceptions/Attitudes of Physical Education and Physical Activity on Supporting their Children΄s Physical Activity

Abstract

Over the last decade, the importance of the parents' role in forming children's behavior related to physical activity (PA) has been highlighted in numerous studies.This cross-sectional study is among the first examining the link between parental attitudes and physical education (PE). The sample of the study consisted of 221 parents of high school children (Mage: 44.6 ± 5.06) from 5 Greek suburban cities. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires including measures of a) parents’ and children’ PA level, b) perceived importance of PE lessons’ goals via 9 questions reflecting the aims of the lesson according to the national curriculum,
c) perceived importance of the children’s PA d) perceived importance of PE, e) parental support towards PA and parents’ demographic characteristics. The results of the study showed that: a) parents’ perceived importance of PE goals affected their attitudes for both PE and PA outside school, b) importance assigned by the parent on PA influenced the support they provide for their children's physical activity, and c) parents PA predicted also children’s PA levels. In conclusion, the present study offers some new insights in this field by examining the effect of PE classes in shaping parental beliefs about exercise and support of their
children.