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ERIC Number: ED172912
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1979-Mar
Pages: 15
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Girls' Physically Active Play and Parental Behavior.
Tauber, Margaret A.
Sex differences in children's physical activity levels, and associations between girls' activity level, childrearing characteristics and parent-child play behavior were investigated in a quasi-naturalistic situation. As part of a longitudinal project, 144 third grade children were videotaped in a 1-hour play session with one of their parents. A variety of toys, ranging from active (for example, a set of styrofoam sabres) to sedentary (puzzles) was available for play. The videotapes were coded for behavioral and mood variables, and these scores factor-analyzed to produce four factors for children (Physically Active Play, Solitary Play, Buoyant Mood and Physical Contact Seeking) and four for parents (Sociable Play, Active Play, Talkative Play and Buoyant Support). There was no difference between girls and boys in frequency of Physically Active Play, but girls engaged in more Buoyant Play and Physical Contact Seeking, boys in more Solitary Play. Discussion of parental characteristics focuses on parents of Physically Active girls, although data for boys is provided in tables. These girls' parents tended to be non-conventional and to be lax rather than firm. Mothers were career oriented and did not emphasize household structure and orderly schedules. Fathers encouraged independence in their daughters. In addition, girls from small families were most likely to be physically active. Ratings of parent behavior in the play session indicated that the parents of physically active girls were themselves significantly more active than parents of less active girls. (Author/SS)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Inst. of Child Health and Human Development (NIH), Bethesda, MD.; National Science Foundation, Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: California Univ., Berkeley. Inst. of Human Behavior.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (San Francisco, California, March 15-18, 1979)