Female Adolescent's and Their Parent's Perception of Family Role in Forming Girl's Physical Activity Behavior

Family plays an important role in physical activity behaviors in children and adolescents although the procedure of this effect is not clear. This study was designed to explore the family role in forming female adolescents’ physical activity behavior. This study used a qualitative procedure and content analysis method. To collect data، semi–structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants (16 female adolescents، 7 mothers، and 2 fathers). All interviews were recorded، transcribed and finally analyzed by qualitative content analysis method. Three main themes emerged as the family role in forming female adolescents'' physical activity behavior: starter (talent identification، interest arousal)، strengthener (providing، companionship and encouraging)، and maintainer (try to eliminate barriers and try to acquire the agreement of the disagreed member in the family). This study provided a better understanding of how families influenced their girls'' physical activity behavior. Identifying the role of family can help health authorities and physical education coaches to design more effective family–based interventions and also to identify more areas for further research.