The relationship between physical fitness scores of sixth-grade children and parental attitude toward physical activity.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between parental attitudes toward physical activity and the physical fitness levels of their sixth-grade children. Additionally, the study examined the relationship between the attitude toward physical activity of the mother and that of the father on the physical fitness levels of their sixth grade boys and girls, respectively. The participants in the study included 194 children enrolled in the sixth grade at Prescott Central Middle School in Cookeville, Tennessee and one or both of their parents. The study was conducted during the 1996-97 school year.

Each child was administered test items selected from two recognized test batteries, the Fitnessgram (Institute for Aerobic Research, 1987) and the Physical Best (AAHPERD, 1988). Concurrently, each parent was asked to complete the Attitudes Toward Physical Activity Inventory (ATPA, Kenyon, 1968). This inventory is a multi-dimensional approach to the measurement of attitude toward physical activity.

The comparison between the mean scores of the parent attitude on the six dimensions of physical activity and the mean fitness scores of their sixth-grade children suggested that there was no statistically significant relationship between the parents' attitude toward physical activity and the fitness levels of their sixth-grade children.