Influence of parental involvement and parenting styles in children’s active lifestyle: a systematic review

Introduction

Inadequate physical activity (PA) is a worldwide public health problem and one of the main risk factors for premature mortality (Lee et al., 2012; Machado-de-Recende et al., 2019). At least 3.2 million people die each year for not being able to join a program of 30 min of PA per day/several days a week (World Health Organization, 2020). The 2011-2012 National Health Survey indicated that, in Spain, 40% of the adult population and 12.1% of the children population declare themselves sedentary (National Health Survey of the Government of Spain, 2014). More specifically, 8.2% of boys are basically inactive, the percentage rising to 16.3% of girls (Díez, 2017). These data are similar to those presented by the World Health Organization (2016) which estimated that, worldwide, only 19.3% of children and adolescents were active. The situation described is worrying because it is known that involvement in physical sports activities decreases from childhood to adolescence and over the years (World Health Organization, 2016). The low levels of PA have caused an increase in the incidence of several diseases, such as obesity, cancer, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases, among others (Guo et al., 2019; Lätt et al., 2015). Considering that these diseases have a high impact on the use of health services and the consequent medical expense, it seems important to try to modify the sedentary lifestyle from an early stage of life. In particular, it is known that being active while childhood increases the chances of being active during adulthood (Biddle et al., 2010; Trudeau, Laurencelle & Shephard, 2004).

However, previous systematic reviews report on parent-focused intervention programs to improve children’s school PA (Kovács et al., 2022) and PA in general (Gatus et al., 2022). Systematic reviews also explore parents’ influence on different types and intensities of PA (Edwardson & Gorely, 2010). The few systematic reviews that examine parenting styles (PS) and PA practice focused on samples from the United States with children under 2 to 12 years old (Lindsay et al., 2018). This work aims to obtain a more general vision of parents’ role (through parental involvement and PS) in active lifestyles and PA, adding a fundamental variable for them: motivation. Therefore, this work will provide scarcely explored information, offering a current perspective on the importance of parental involvement and PS in active lifestyles and motivation towards physical activity, something fundamental for human health.

Parental involvement is defined as a set of actions, beliefs and signs of implication that parents show to their children (Desimone, 1999). Parental involvement in children’s active lifestyles has been examined in some previous work (Glozah, Oppong & Kugbey, 2018; Hendrie et al., 2012; Rebold et al., 2015). The active lifestyle is understood as the practice of regular PA, of moderate to vigorous intensity, for a minimum of 30 min daily, this time being able to obtain from leisure activities and free time, work or household chores (Sañudo, Martínez & Muñoa, 2012). Parental involvement includes behaviors such as providing values to children, talking with them (Scribner, Young & Pedroza, 1999), giving resources, investing time with them, and money (Bower & Griffin, 2011). In the PA field, parental involvement can be done directly or indirectly. In direct parental involvement, parents perform PA together with their children, paying the fees for them to participate in physical activities, talking with them about the benefits of PA (Beets, Cardinal & Alderman, 2010), and acting as role models (Beets, Cardinal & Alderman, 2010; Ormrod, 1999). Considering the modeling of parents individually, Nuviala, Ruíz & García (2003) found that children practiced more sports when the mother was the PA practitioner. García-Ferrando (1993) determined the importance of parental modeling, since 76% of the children whose mothers practiced sports were active. However, only 49% of young people were active if inactive mothers raised them. Regarding indirect parental involvement, parents behave in a passive way that does not require them to participate in their children’s PA personally. However, they may do so by watching children during sports competitions and training (Hendrie et al., 2012; Hingle et al., 2010).

Some previous works show that the PA of children is influenced by PS (Jago et al., 2011; Sekot, 2019; Van-der-Geest et al., 2017). PS can be defined as the attitudes that parents express when living with their children and the emotional climate that exists between them (Darling & Steinberg, 1993). PS are exercised through support, control, parental demands, communication (Baumrind, 1967), affection, autonomy (Schaefer, 1959), psychological control and behavioral control (Barber, Olsen & Shagle, 1994), and restriction (Becker, 1964), etc. Considering the different variables that can be found within the PS, different types of them can be distinguished. These styles are democratic, authoritarian, permissive, and negligent. Generally, democratic parents are demanding and receptive. Authoritarian styles are demanding and directive but not receptive. Permissive parents are the most receptive, but they are not demanding. Neglectful styles are non-demanding, non-directive, and non-receptive. It has been found that specific behaviors that parents adopt during nurture, such as over-demands are negatively related to the practice of PA (Jago et al., 2011). Likewise, when PS are governed by restrictions, rigid discipline, and over-exertion, children do not report good levels of PA practice. In other words, there are situations where children do not participate in physical activities because their parents do not permit them to enroll (Nuviala, Ruíz & García, 2003). On other occasions, rigid discipline and overexertion (Dencker et al., 2006) suppress the children’s PA practice (Pelegrín, González-García & Garcés-De-Los-Fayos, 2019). At the opposite extreme, parents who use reasoning and accept their children’s requests facilitate their participation in PA (Hennessy et al., 2010). In the same way, parents who support their children in practicing PA improve their participation levels (Hennessy et al., 2010; Jago et al., 2011).

PS also exert their role in the motivation towards the practice of PA (Keegan et al., 2009; Kitzman-Ulrich et al., 2010; Tang et al., 2018). Motivation is a variable that promotes the onset or maintenance of an action or behavior (Moral-García, Uchaga-Litago & Ramos-Morcillo, 2020). Motivation can appear as a response to exogenous factors (non-self-determined motivation), or people can act of their own volition (self-determined motivation) (Ponseti et al., 2019). Non-self-determined motivation can evolve into self-determined motivation if people perceive the activity they carry out as part of their value (Laukkanen, Sääkslahti & Aunola, 2020). In general, democratic styles are negatively related to not self-determined motivation (Tang et al., 2018). Therefore, children will participate in PA through their motives (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Authoritarian and permissive styles are negatively related to self-determined motivation (Tang et al., 2018). In these cases, the children will participate in the PA to obey their parents (authoritarian) or obtain rewards (permissive). Neglectful parents are positively linked to non-self-determined motivations (Rubin, 2017). In this situation, the children will not be inherently motivated to participate in PA (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

Literature has been mainly focused on examining, separately, the role of parents’ involvement in active lifestyles (García-Ferrando, 1993; Lev et al., 2020), or PS in the practice of PA (Jago et al., 2011; Lee & Román, 2014; Martínez-López et al., 2014) or PS in the motivation towards PA (Huffman et al., 2018; Pendlebury et al., 2013). This systematic review goes a step further, aiming not only the study of all the variables together (active lifestyles regarding parental involvement and the practice and motivation toward PA regarding PS), but also to provide information about the parental variables that act negatively and positively on the adoption of active lifestyles of the children.

Survey methodology

Study selection

The articles included in the present systematic review were: those that examined the role of parental involvement in the active lifestyles of children, those that explored the connection between PS (classified as democratic, permissive, authoritarian, and neglectful) with the practice of light, moderate-vigorous PA, etc. In addition, the articles that examined the connection between the aforementioned PS and the self-determined or non-self-determined motivation toward PA, those that were published in a peer-reviewed journal and written in English.

On the other hand, literature reviews, abstracts, editorial comments, and letters to the editors were excluded. It was decided to exclude systematic reviews to include original studies in which information on the study’s design (longitudinal or cross-sectional), the context, and the geographical location of the study could be clearly observed. For instance, all systematic reviews do not detail some sample characteristics (only fathers, only mothers, fathers, and children), their age, and other descriptive information. Moreover, including systematic reviews may add some biases related to the treatment of the information.

After the search process, 996 manuscripts were obtained from the different databases. Likewise, 55 registers were obtained. Then, 1,051 manuscripts were obtained from database and registers index. On the other hand, through other methods, three records of interest were registered (one record was identified through websites, and two through organizations). Of the 1,051 manuscripts identified via databases and registers, nine were eliminated in this first recovery phase for being duplicates. Therefore, 1,042 were screened. Of the 1,042 manuscripts, 1,011 were excluded during the abstract and title screening step. At this stage, it was not considered necessary to recover any manuscripts. Therefore, 31 manuscripts moved to the full-text screening step phase. Of these 31 manuscripts, 21 were eliminated for the following reasons: two because they were reviews, 18 because they were duplicates, and one because they did not contain all the necessary data that has been detailed in the inclusion criteria. Regarding studies obtained by other methods, three reports were assessed for eligibility. However, all three were eliminated for not rigorously meeting the inclusion criteria of the systematic review. Therefore, finally 10 articles were included in the systematic review. The article selection process can be found in Fig. 1.

Results

Table 2 summarizes the main characteristics of each study. Four studies were held in the USA, one in Australia, one in Asia, two in Europe, and two in Israel. The total size of the sample was 1,957 children and their respective parental figures. One of the ten studies exclusively included parental-men figures. Five of the ten studies included both parents and children. Four of the ten studies exclusively included children.

If you wish to obtain more information about the measures used to examine parental involvement, PS, and PA practice, it is suggested that you consult Table 2. It details those used in each of the 10 included studies.

The detailed data are presented in Table 2. Figure 2 and Table 3 summarize the results obtained. In general, direct parental involvement through modeling (Alia et al., 2013; Sterret et al., 2013), the participation of parents and children together in sports (Lev et al., 2020; Yazeedi et al., 2021), and the indirect participation in PA (advice sheets making or newsletters) (Verhees et al., 2020) may promote active lifestyles. It is usual that when PS raises children with parental support (Yaffe, 2018) and affection (Huffman et al., 2018), adequate levels of PA practice are registered. However, in two of the ten works, the result was the opposite (Langer et al., 2014; Saunders et al., 2012). On the other hand, support and affection predict self-determined motivation (Huffman et al., 2018; Laukkanen, Sääkslahti & Aunola, 2020). This means that children wish to participate in PA by their own. However, coercive parental control and lack of structure do not help to configure self-determined motivations (Laukkanen, Sääkslahti & Aunola, 2020). Therefore, children will participate in PA when they feel coerced by external pressures.

Discussion

This systematic review aimed to know the influence of parental involvement in children’s active lifestyles and the influence of parenting styles on children’s practice and motivation towards physical activity. This review conveys the importance of parents’ involvement in children’s active lifestyles through parental modeling in early childhood and co-participation in PA. On the other hand, this work also reflects the influence of PS on PA. In this case, it can be seen how maternal and paternal support does not always provide good results in the practice of PA. This is verified in some studies where there was no relationship between both variables or where the absence of parental support was related to the practice of PA. Finally, this review reveals that parental support is related to strong self-determined motivation towards PA, same as affection, appropriate demanding requirements and non-coercive control.

Regarding the influence of parental involvement in active lifestyles, it is considered that parents can promote the aforementioned active lifestyles thanks to alternatives such as direct involvement with adequate parental modeling (Alia et al., 2013; Yazeedi et al., 2021), and participation together with the children in the exercise (Lev et al., 2020). The positive effect of parental modeling found in the work of Alia et al. (2013) and Yazeedi et al. (2021) is consistent with other projects, where it was found that children tended to be active when their parents were too (Beets, Cardinal & Alderman, 2010; Nuviala, Ruíz & García, 2003; Ormrod, 1999). Considering the joint participation of parents and children in PA, Alia et al. (2013) and Yazeedi et al. (2021) found a positive effect on children’s PA practice mediated by parent-child co-participation. These results are consistent with what was stipulated by Lev et al. (2020), who establish that parents who exercise with their children encourage them to perceive greater enjoyment during PA (and increase their participation in it). Verhees et al. (2020) allude to another alternative to parental involvement, which is indirect involvement. This can be done by preparing sheets or support newsletters from mothers and fathers. This alternative allows parents who have an intense working day to be involved in the habits of their children (Verhees et al., 2020).

Concerning the influence of PS in PA, a brief allusion is made to the different styles: warm and controlling parents (democratic), non-affective but controlling (authoritarian), affective but not controlling (permissive) and non-affective and non-controlling (negligent). Huffman et al. (2018) found that democratic PS was not significantly associated with moderate-vigorous physical activity (but it was related to light physical activity). According to Huffman et al. (2018) these results may be influenced because they worked with an overweight sample, who tend to perform fewer minutes of PA compared to healthy-weight active youth. The results of Huffman et al. (2018) are consistent with those of Langer et al. (2014), who did not find a relationship between democratic style and the practice of the aforementioned moderate-vigorous physical activity. In the study by Langer et al. (2014) seemed to prove that in PA when parents had little permissiveness, support did not matter. In the case of democratic parents, support is a variable that is present, however, there is also the control variable (González-García, 2017). Perhaps for this reason, no significant relationship was found between democratic PS and moderate-vigorous physical activity. Regarding these results, previous studies consider that the variables of reasoning and accepting children’s requests in PA (present in democratic style) facilitate participation in PA (Hennessy et al., 2010). Therefore, these variables may have a greater influence on the predisposition to participate in light physical activity than the moderate-vigorous PA. On the other hand, Saunders et al. (2012) found that the authoritarian style was slightly but positively associated with participation in sports. Saunders et al. (2012) specify that parental control can prevent certain behaviors in children (such as accepting minors’ requests to be taken on inactive means of transportation when traveling). Perhaps this “control” is responsible for their increased participation in sports. In another previous work, Jago et al. (2011) described how some variables related to authoritarian PS were related to low levels of PA practice, such as over-demands and impositions. Considering the heterogeneity of results, it can be verified that authoritarian PS are not always synonymous with physical inactivity. Around the permissive PS, Langer et al. (2014) could not detect any association between this style and the practice of PA. In their work, these researchers show that when parents were very permissive, high support was protector and scarce support were detrimental. A priori, in this sample, the high degree of permissiveness could be accompanied by little support for PA, which could lead participants to choose sedentary activities over the practice of PA. On the other hand, Sterret et al. (2013) verified that children raised by permissive PS were related to low levels of PA. This occurred because excess permissiveness was related to maladaptive behaviors regarding physical health (Sterret et al., 2013). Previously (Torio, 2008) showed that permissive parents do not control their children’s behaviors during parenting (Torio, 2008). Likewise, Mazlina, Atikah & Rozile (2019) mentioned that parental supervision during PA practice helps children’s participation. Given that this variable tends to be non-existent in permissive PS, this could explain the negative relationship between PA and these PS (Sterret et al., 2013). Finally, Saunders et al. (2012) described a negative association between negligent PS and the practice of sport. In their work, a trend is observed towards a longer duration of organized sport with authoritarian PS (which implies control). Both support (Hennessy et al., 2010; Jago et al., 2011) and control (Mazlina, Atikah & Rozile, 2019) promote participation in PA. Thus, its absence could explain the negative relationship between the negligent PS and PA.

Regarding the motivational variable, according to the influence of PS, Huffman et al. (2018) found that the democratic PS favored self-determined motivation. Tang et al. (2018) support this premise since, in their study, the democratic PS was not associated with motivations with low self-determination. On the other hand, Laukkanen, Sääkslahti & Aunola (2020) found that parents who promoted autonomy in their children’s PA facilitated their perceptions of independence and helped them originate autonomous motivation (self-determined). Namely, Laukkanen, Sääkslahti & Aunola (2020) affirm that children who perceived support, warmth and their parents demanded them reasonable expectations, configure self-determined (autonomous) motivations. Both the promotion of autonomy and the support, warmth and adequate demands of exigency are variables related to the democratic PS (Torio, 2008). Therefore, once again, the close connection between democratic PS and self-determined motivations toward PA seems to be verified (Huffman et al., 2018; Laukkanen, Sääkslahti & Aunola, 2020). On the other hand, Laukkanen, Sääkslahti & Aunola (2020) found in their study that children who perceived demanding and strict parental expectations (authoritarian PS) towards PA developed self-determined motivations toward the same. Previously, authoritarian PS was negatively related to self-determined motivation (Tang et al., 2018). However, in this case, the children understood the over-demand as a variable of parental support and that it was aimed at improving their perception of competence during the PA (Laukkanen, Sääkslahti & Aunola, 2020), so it does not weaken their self-determined motivation. Another variable that can appear in the authoritarian PS is coercive control. In the study of Laukkanen, Sääkslahti & Aunola (2020), it seems to be responsible for creating non-self-determined motivations. This happens because it deprives the perception of autonomy during PA. Finally, the lack of parental structure fostered sedentary behaviors in the children, a low perception of competence during PA, and created low self-determined motivation (Laukkanen, Sääkslahti & Aunola, 2020). This result is in common with what was exposed by Tang et al. (2018), who argued that permissive PS does not create self-determined motivations toward PA.

Conclusions

In conclusion, parents can act as role models (doing PA) for their children to imitate or exercise simultaneously with them. This direct parental involvement will reduce sedentary children’s behavior associated with the current lifestyle. Whenever there are difficulties in reconciling family life with work, parents should use indirect involvement to encourage their children’s active lifestyles through messages or letters of support. Again, this involvement will translate into an active lifestyle. Parents should support their children in the practice of PA because, in this way, they facilitate their interest in participating in it, and promote enjoyment during exercise. Support, together with the variables of affection, appropriate demanding requirements, and non-coercive control, helps children form self-determined motivations for active lifestyles, ensuring that their behaviors are not lost over time.

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