investigating the mediating role of the neighborhood environment in the effect of parental support and physical activity on children's physical activity

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of the neighborhood environment in the effect of parental support and physical activity on children's physical activity.

This research was carried out as a descriptive - correlational work and based on structural equation modeling . The statistical population consisted of all male and female students aged 9 - 11 years in Tehran and their parents (n=299,610). In total , 384 were selected based on Morgan’s Table and 400 questionnaires were collected . The participants were selected through a random cluster- method. In this study, the physical activity questionnaires for children by K Kowalski et al. (1997), the parental support for physical activity by Beets et al. (2006), the level of physical activity by Craig et al. (2003), and the neighborhood environment by Sallis et al. (2010) were used as data gathering tools. Formal, content, and structure validity were obtained using the confirmatory factor analysis and the reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha method. For data analysis , SPSS software was used and for modeling structural equations Smart PLS (v.2) was used.

The results showed the positive and significant effects of parental support (β = 0.662, t = 18.724) on children's physical activity , parents' physical activity (β = 0.486, t = 12.235) on children's physical activity , parental support (β = 0.468, t = 12,139) on the neighborhood environment, parents' physical activity (β = 0.572, t = 13.673) on the neighborhood environment, and the neighborhood environment (β = 0.766, t= 29.026) on children's physical activity. Finally, the results of Sobel test and VAF confirmed the mediating role of the neighborhood environment and supported the optimal fit of the research model.

Parents and family members must enhance their role in children's physical activities. Parents can improve the role of the neighborhood environment in increasing children's physical activity by planning group programs and attending parks and sports venues in the neighborhood. In particular, they can participate in sports and recreation programs with their children.