TY - JOUR
T1 - Temperament Is Associated With Outdoor Free Play in Young Children
T2 - A TARGet Kids! Study
AU - TARGet Kids! Collaboration
AU - Sharp, Julia R.
AU - Maguire, Jonathon L.
AU - Carsley, Sarah
AU - Abdullah, Kawsari
AU - Chen, Yang
AU - Perrin, Eliana M.
AU - Parkin, Patricia C.
AU - Birken, Catherine S.
AU - Lau, Eddy
AU - Laupacis, Andreas
AU - Salter, Michael
AU - Szatmari, Peter
AU - Weir, Shannon
AU - Aglipay, Mary
AU - Ali, Yamna
AU - Anderson, Laura N.
AU - Bayoumi, Imaan
AU - Borkhoff, Cornelia M.
AU - Chen, Shiyi
AU - Chen, Yang
AU - Dai, David W.H.
AU - Darmawikarta, Denise
AU - Dennis, Cindy Lee
AU - Eny, Karen
AU - Erdle, Stephanie
AU - Furlong, Kayla
AU - Kavikondala, Kanthi
AU - Koroshegyi, Christine
AU - Kowal, Christine
AU - Lee, Grace Jieun
AU - Mason, Dalah
AU - Omand, Jessica
AU - Persaud, Navindra
AU - Plumptre, Lesley
AU - van den Heuvel, Meta
AU - Vanderhout, Shelley
AU - Wong, Peter
AU - Zabih, Weeda
AU - Abdurrahman, Murtala
AU - Anderson, Barbara
AU - Anderson, Kelly
AU - Arbess, Gordon
AU - Baker, Jillian
AU - Barozzino, Tony
AU - Bergeron, Sylvie
AU - Bhagat, Dimple
AU - Blanchette, Nicholas
AU - Bloch, Gary
AU - Bonifacio, Joey
AU - Bowry, Ashna
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported in part by the Canadian Institute for Health Research, SickKids Foundation, St Michael's Hospital Foundation, and the Academic Pediatric Association Resident Investigator Award 2014.
Funding Information:
Supported in part by the Canadian Institute for Health Research, SickKids Foundation , St Michael's Hospital Foundation , and the Academic Pediatric Association Resident Investigator Award 2014.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Academic Pediatric Association
PY - 2018/5/1
Y1 - 2018/5/1
N2 - Objective: Outdoor free play is important for preschoolers’ physical activity, health, and development. Certain temperamental characteristics are associated with obesity, nutrition, and sedentary behaviors in preschoolers, but the relationship between temperament and outdoor play has not been examined. This study examined whether there is an association between temperament and outdoor play in young children. Methods: Healthy children aged 1 to 5 years recruited to The Applied Research Group for Kids (TARGet Kids!), a community-based primary care research network, from July 2008 to September 2013 were included. Parent-reported child temperament was assessed using the Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. Outdoor free play and other potential confounding variables were assessed through validated questionnaires. Multivariable linear regression was used to determine the association between temperament and outdoor play, adjusted for potential confounders. Results: There were 3393 children with data on outdoor play. The association between negative affectivity and outdoor play was moderated by sex; in boys, for every 1-point increase in negative affectivity score, mean outdoor play decreased by 4.7 minutes per day. There was no significant association in girls. Surgency was associated with outdoor play; for every 1-point increase in surgency/extraversion, outdoor play increased by 4.6 minutes per day. Conclusions: Young children's temperamental characteristics were associated with their participation in outdoor free play. Consideration of temperament could enhance interventions and strategies to increase outdoor play in young children. Longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate the relationship between children's early temperament and physical activity.
AB - Objective: Outdoor free play is important for preschoolers’ physical activity, health, and development. Certain temperamental characteristics are associated with obesity, nutrition, and sedentary behaviors in preschoolers, but the relationship between temperament and outdoor play has not been examined. This study examined whether there is an association between temperament and outdoor play in young children. Methods: Healthy children aged 1 to 5 years recruited to The Applied Research Group for Kids (TARGet Kids!), a community-based primary care research network, from July 2008 to September 2013 were included. Parent-reported child temperament was assessed using the Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. Outdoor free play and other potential confounding variables were assessed through validated questionnaires. Multivariable linear regression was used to determine the association between temperament and outdoor play, adjusted for potential confounders. Results: There were 3393 children with data on outdoor play. The association between negative affectivity and outdoor play was moderated by sex; in boys, for every 1-point increase in negative affectivity score, mean outdoor play decreased by 4.7 minutes per day. There was no significant association in girls. Surgency was associated with outdoor play; for every 1-point increase in surgency/extraversion, outdoor play increased by 4.6 minutes per day. Conclusions: Young children's temperamental characteristics were associated with their participation in outdoor free play. Consideration of temperament could enhance interventions and strategies to increase outdoor play in young children. Longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate the relationship between children's early temperament and physical activity.
KW - active play
KW - free play
KW - negative affectivity
KW - outdoor play
KW - physical activity
KW - preschoolers
KW - temperament
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85033448524&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85033448524&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.acap.2017.08.006
DO - 10.1016/j.acap.2017.08.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 28842293
AN - SCOPUS:85033448524
SN - 1876-2859
VL - 18
SP - 445
EP - 451
JO - Academic pediatrics
JF - Academic pediatrics
IS - 4
ER -