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Examining cross-sectional associations between Australian parents' physical activity levels and their parenting confidence.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100968562 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-2458 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14712458 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001-
    • Subject Terms:
      Parenting*/psychology ; Parents*/psychology ; Exercise*/psychology; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Australia ; Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Self Report ; Middle Aged
    • Abstract:
      Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study utilises data from the Let’s Grow study, approved by the Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee (2020-077). The collection of all data were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations of the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants provided informed consent for themselves and their child prior to participating in the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
      Background: Previous research suggests that parenting confidence is important for child outcomes but what could influence parenting confidence is less clear. This study aims to examine associations between parental physical activity and general and physical activity-specific parenting confidence.
      Methods: Baseline data from the Let's Grow randomised controlled trial of 1481 parents (1338 mothers and 143 fathers) were used. Parent physical activity was device-assessed and self-reported. An adapted version of the HAPPY scale and the Me as a Parent scale were used to assess physical activity-specific and general parenting confidence respectively. Associations were assessed separately for mothers and fathers via linear regressions adjusted for parents' age, education, and siblings.
      Results: Self-reported physical activity was positively associated with general and physical activity-specific parenting confidence for mothers (β = 0.19, CI 95  = 0.0, 0.34 and β = 0.04, CI 95  = 0.02, 0.05 respectively). No associations were found between device-assessed physical activity and either parenting confidence for mothers. No associations were found for fathers.
      Conclusions: Self-reported physical activity was most robustly associated with physical activity-specific parenting confidence for mothers. A similar pattern was observed for fathers but the smaller sample size widened confidence intervals. Mothers' perceptions of their physical activity may be an important consideration for future research. Understanding these associations may help to support parents in achieving optimal health outcomes for both themselves and their children.
      (© 2025. The Author(s).)
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    • Grant Information:
      Post-Graduate Scholarship Deakin University; 105929 Heart Foundation
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Fathers; Mothers; Parenting confidence; Parents; Physical activity; Toddlers
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20250507 Date Completed: 20250508 Latest Revision: 20250519
    • Publication Date:
      20250519
    • Accession Number:
      PMC12057121
    • Accession Number:
      10.1186/s12889-025-22833-x
    • Accession Number:
      40335934