Mothers' and fathers' neural responses toward gender-stereotype violations by their own children.

Gender stereotypes facilitate people's processing of social information by providing assumptions about expected behaviors and preferences. When gendered expectations are violated, people often respond negatively, both on a behavioral and neural level. Little is known about the impact of family kinship on the behavioral and neural reactions to gender-stereotype violations. Therefore, we examined whether parents show different responses when gender stereotypes are violated by their own children vs unknown children. The sample comprised 74 Dutch families with a father (Mage = 37.54), mother (Mage = 35.83), son, and daughter aged 3-6 years. Electroencephalography measurements were obtained while parents viewed pictures of their own and unknown children paired with toy or problem behavior words that violated or confirmed gender stereotypes. In half of the trials, parents evaluated the appropriateness of toy-gender and behavior-gender combinations. Parents showed stronger late positive potential amplitudes toward gender stereotype-violating behaviors by own children compared to unknown children. Moreover, parents' P1 responses toward gender stereotype-violating child behaviors were stronger for boys than for girls and for parents who evaluated gender-stereotype violations as less appropriate than gender-stereotype confirmations. These findings indicated that gender-stereotype violations by parents' own children are particularly salient and viewed as less appropriate than gender-stereotype confirmations.

Reliability and validity of rapid assessment tools for measuring 24-hour movement behaviours in children aged 0-5 years: the Movement Behaviour Questionnaire Baby (MBQ-B) and child (MBQ-C).

BACKGROUND: The development of validated "fit-for-purpose" rapid assessment tools to measure 24-hour movement behaviours in children aged 0-5 years is a research priority. This study evaluated the test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of the open-ended and closed-ended versions of the Movement Behaviour Questionnaire for baby (MBQ-B) and child (MBQ-C). METHODS: 300 parent-child dyads completed the 10-day study protocol (MBQ-B: N = 85; MBQ-C: N = 215). To assess validity, children wore an accelerometer on the non-dominant wrist (ActiGraph GT3X+) for 7 days and parents completed 2 × 24-hour time use diaries (TUDs) recording screen time and sleep on two separate days. For babies (i.e., not yet walking), parents completed 2 × 24-hour TUDs recording tummy time, active play, restrained time, screen time, and sleep on days 2 and 5 of the 7-day monitoring period. To assess test-retest reliability, parents were randomised to complete either the open- or closed-ended versions of the MBQ on day 7 and on day 10. Test-retest intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC's) were calculated using generalized linear mixed models and validity was assessed via Spearman correlations. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability for the MBQ-B was good to excellent with ICC's ranging from 0.80 to 0.94 and 0.71-0.93 for the open- and closed-ended versions, respectively. For both versions, significant positive correlations were observed between 24-hour diary and MBQ-B reported tummy time, active play, restrained time, screen time, and sleep (rho = 0.39-0.87). Test-retest reliability for the MBQ-C was moderate to excellent with ICC's ranging from 0.68 to 0.98 and 0.44-0.97 for the open- and closed-ended versions, respectively. For both the open- and closed-ended versions, significant positive correlations were observed between 24-hour diary and MBQ-C reported screen time and sleep (rho = 0.44-0.86); and between MBQ-C reported and device-measured time in total activity and energetic play (rho = 0.27-0.42). CONCLUSIONS: The MBQ-B and MBQ-C are valid and reliable rapid assessment tools for assessing 24-hour movement behaviours in infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers. Both the open- and closed-ended versions of the MBQ are suitable for research conducted for policy and practice purposes, including the evaluation of scaled-up early obesity prevention programs.

An updated systematic review of correlates of children's physical activity and sedentary time in early childhood education services.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood education services (ECE) continue to be a key setting to promote physical activity and limit sedentary behaviour. Thus, the aim of this study was to (1) provide an updated systematic review of correlates of physical activity and sedentary behaviour among children in ECE settings and (2) discuss changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviour correlates among children in ECEC settings over time. METHODS: A systematic search of eight databases identified 40 studies published between 2015 and 2023 that met the inclusion criteria. The variables were categorized into four domains (child, educator, physical environmental and organizational). Fifty-eight variables were identified. RESULTS: For data from 2015 to 2023, strong associations were identified in all domains (child, educator, physical environmental and organizational) for physical activity, yet no strong associations for sedentary behaviour were identified. Aggregated data (i.e., combining data from previous review and this review) showed strong associations with children's physical activity and age, motor coordination and sex (child), educator behaviour and presence (educator), presence and size of outdoor environments (physical environmental) and active opportunities and service quality (organizational). For sedentary behaviour, sex, outdoor environments and active opportunities were strongly associated in the combined data. CONCLUSION: The correlates of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in ECE settings continue to be multi-dimensional and span different domains. Variables such as educator behaviours and intentionality, provision of active opportunities, use of outdoor space and service quality should be the key focus area for improving physical activity and sedentary behaviour levels of young children.

The Behavioral Profile of SYNGAP1-Related Intellectual Disability.

This study aimed to describe the behavioral profile of individuals with SYNGAP1-ID. Parents/carers of 30 individuals aged 3-18 years old with a diagnosis of SYNGAP1-ID and 21 typically developing individuals completed the Vineland-3 Adaptive Behavior Scale and the Child Behavior Checklist. We found that those with SYNGAP1-ID showed fewer adaptive behaviors and higher levels of internalizing and externalizing behaviors across almost all domains compared to typically developing controls. There was some evidence that these differences were greatest in older children, and more apparent in those with co-occuring epilepsy. This characterization of the phenotype of SYNGAP1-ID significantly aids our understanding of the behavioral profile of this population and is a step towards the development of tailored interventions.

Parenting style and young children's executive function mediate the relationship between parenting stress and parenting quality in two-child families.

This study explored the relationship between parenting stress, parenting style, parenting quality, and young children's executive function. In total, 243 firstborns aged 2-9 years old (SD = 3.82) and their parents from two-child families in Beijing participated in the study, which used executive function tasks and parenting questionnaires. The results found that (1) parenting stress negatively predicted parenting quality; (2) parenting style partially mediated the relationship between parenting stress and parenting quality; (3) children's executive function partially mediated the relationship between parenting stress and parenting quality; and (4) the spoiled, democratic, permissive, and authoritarian parenting styles each play a chain mediating role with young children's executive function between parenting stress and parenting quality. Taken together, these findings provide implications for scientific parenting of children with different psychological characteristics (such as executive function) in multiple-child families under Parenting stress.

Examining psychosocial pathways to explain the link between breastfeeding practices and child behaviour in a longitudinal cohort.

OBJECTIVE: Breastfeeding is associated with reduced postpartum depression, stronger parent-child relationships, and fewer behavioral disorders in early childhood. We tested the mediating roles of postpartum depression and parent-child relationship in the association between breastfeeding practices and child behavior. STUDY DESIGN: We used standardized questionnaire data from a subset of the CHILD Cohort Study (n = 1,573) to measure postpartum depression at 6 months, 1 year and 2 years, parent-child relationship 1 year and 2 years, and child behavior at 5 years using the Child Behavior Checklist (range 0-100). Breastfeeding practices were measured at 3 months (none, partial, some expressed, all direct at the breast), 6 months (none, partial, exclusive), 12 months, and 24 months (no, yes). Confounders included birth factors, maternal characteristics, and socioeconomic status. RESULTS: Breast milk feeding at 3 or 6 months was associated with - 1.13 (95% CI: -2.19-0.07) to -2.14 (95% CI: -3.46, -0.81) lower (better) child behavior scores. Reduced postpartum depression at 6 months mediated between 11.5% and 16.6% of the relationship between exclusive breast milk feeding at 3 months and better child behavior scores. Together, reduced postpartum depression at 1 year and reduced parent-child dysfunction at 2 years mediated between 21.9% and 32.1% of the relationship between breastfeeding at 12 months and better child behavior scores. CONCLUSION: Postpartum depression and parent-child relationship quality partially mediate the relationship between breastfeeding practices and child behavior. Breastfeeding, as well as efforts to support parental mental health and parent-child relationships, may help to improve child behavior.

Aggressive parenting: social, medical and legal aspects.

OBJECTIVE: Aim: To examine the impacts of aggressive parenting on physical, mental and emotional development; outcomes for society; possible ways of prevention of children' rights or health violation and responsibility of parents to optimize well-being of children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and Methods: The analysis of scientific data has been conducted on the basis of PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases in order to collect the existed results of researches about social and medical aspects of impact of aggressive parenting. The formal-legal method was used to interpret the provisions of legislation regarding the protection of personal non-property rights and responsibilities of parents and children. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: Aggressive parenting affects children of all ages and is associated with chronic stress and long-term negative impacts on physical development, cognitive and behavioral dysfunction, socioemotional difficulties, social and psychological dysfunction in adulthood. Aggressive parenting triggers a child' aggressive behavior which is considered as a predictor of adult's criminality. From a legal standpoint, aggressive parenting is a form of violation of the responsibility of parents to educate a child, which is an element of family legal relations regulated by the norms of the family law institution known as ≪Personal non-property rights and responsibilities of parents and children". The definition of aggressive parenting has been defined with its legal features and characteristics. Effective prevention methods should be directed to predict possible further parental violence, intervention programs to reduce outcomes of aggressive parenting and to improve the ways of responsibility in procedural and material aspects of law.

Parent-child coregulation as a dynamic system: a commentary on Wass et al. (2024).

In this commentary, I argue that including and operationalizing allostatic processes will become increasingly important in future research on parent-child biobehavioral coregulation. In particular, the conceptualization and modeling of dyadic oscillatory rhythms that align in expected ways with the child's developmental stage and that distinguish typical and atypical development will be useful in future work. Despite the inherent asymmetry characteristic of parent-child relationships, we should not forget to consider the child's effects on the parent within and across time, the additional environmental demands upon parents that shape parent-child coregulation, and variations in parent-child asymmetry by parental risk factors. Studying risk factors that are dyadic in nature, such as child maltreatment, may be particularly informative in gaining a deeper understanding of how parent-child coregulation interfaces with developmental psychopathology. To best model parent-child coregulation as a dynamic system, it will be critical to employ more nonlinear analytic models and better represent the multiple hierarchical domains of coregulation and their interactions, including affect, cognition, behavior, and biology. Finally, in future research, a deeper application of existing dyadic and dynamic theories, as well as the generation of new dyadic developmental theories, will aid us in obtaining a stronger understanding of the developmental function and intervention implications of parent-child biobehavioral coregulation.

The sDOR.2-6y™ Is a Valid Measure of Nutrition Risk Independent of BMI-for-Age z-Score and Household Food Security Status in Preschool Aged-Children.

Parents' feeding practices are a function of child eating behaviors, health, and other factors. Adherence to the Satter Division of Responsibility in Feeding (sDOR) model has not been examined relating to child BMI, household food security, or child eating behavior. This study evaluates the adherence to sDOR in relation to child eating behavior, nutrition risk, BMI-for-age, dietary intake, and food security. Ninety-one parent-child (3 to <6 years) dyads completed a cross-sectional asymmetric survey in August-November 2019; n = 69 parents from the original sample completed additional and retrospective questions in June 2021. Main outcomes included sDOR adherence (sDOR.2-6y™), a Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ), nutrition risk (NutriSTEP®), the USDA 6-item screener, the Block Kids Food Screener, and eating competence (ecSI 2.0™). The children's weight and height were investigator-measured. Associations were tested with Pearson's r and Chi Square for continuous and categorical variables, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, or Mann-Whitney U compared means. The dietary comparisons used Spearman's rho correlation coefficient. sDOR adherence was associated with a lower nutrition risk (r = 0.26, p = 0.03) and showed convergent validation with child eating behavior for three child eating behavior (CEBQ) constructs. sDOR.2-6y™ was not related to the child BMI-for-age z-score (r = 0.11, p = 0.39, n = 69). NutriSTEP® was associated with dietary quality and higher ecSI 2.0TM (r = 0.32, p = 0.008, n = 69). No associations between sDOR.2-6y™ and food security or dietary intake were noted.

Validation of the Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire in an Italian Community Sample.

(1) Background: Appetitive traits in adults can be measured through the Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire (AEBQ), a questionnaire adapted from the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ). The AEBQ has been validated in several countries. The aim of the present study was to explore and validate the factor structure of the Italian version of the AEBQ. Furthermore, convergent validity and correlations between factors and BMI were explored to assess its criterion validity. (2) Methods: Participants (N = 624, mean age of 32.08 ± 14.94 years) completed the AEBQ, the Eating Attitude Test (EAT-40), and the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ). They also self-reported demographic and anthropometric data. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to test three different alternative models that emerged in previous validations. (3) Results: The CFA revealed a good model fit (RMSEA = 0.0634, TLI = 0.894, CFI = 0.907) for the 7-factor structure, without the Hunger items, showing a valid and reliable (Cronbach's α > 0.7) structure. Convergent and divergent validity of the AEBQ yielded favorable results, and relationships between the AEBQ and BMI factors revealed that the Food Approach traits were positively associated with BMI. (4) Conclusions: Finally, this study provides initial support for the use of the AEBQ as a valid and reliable tool to measure a wide range of appetitive traits in the adult Italian population.

Impact of Dietary Coparenting and Parenting Strategies on Picky Eating Behaviors in Young Children.

Many studies have demonstrated that coparenting and parenting behaviors have a substantial effect on the behaviors of young children. Research has indicated that young children may exhibit picky eating behaviors, which pose challenges for parents in terms of coparenting and parenting. This study examined how dietary coparenting and parenting strategies directly affect young children's picky eating behaviors and explored the mediating role of parenting strategies in the relations between parental dietary coparenting and young children's picky eating behaviors. More specifically, this study focused on parents of three- to six-year-old children in northern Taiwan. A total of 408 valid completed questionnaires were collected, and the research tools included scales measuring dietary coparenting, parenting strategies, and young children's picky eating behaviors. The results revealed that supportive and undermining dietary coparenting and parenting strategies had a significant direct effect on young children's picky eating behaviors. Furthermore, supportive and undermining dietary coparenting partially mediated young children's picky eating behaviors through parenting strategies. Specifically, among parenting strategies, both "encouraging and facilitating the trying of new foods" and "guiding and modeling" proper eating behaviors had significant indirect effects on reducing young children's picky eating behaviors.

Elementary school-aged children's perceptions of academic dishonesty: Definitions and moral evaluations of cheating behaviors in school.

A total of 76 children (Mage = 9 years 5 months, SD = 2.22 years) participated in a structured interview about their experiences with and knowledge of academic dishonesty. Overall, 27% of the sample reported having cheated in school. Most of these children were 10 to 13 years old, and the most prevalent form of cheating behavior reported was using forbidden materials during a test. Children's age group was a significant positive predictor of their reported cheating history; however, no significant difference was found between children's gender and engagement with cheating. Children's moral evaluations of cheating did not predict their reported cheating history, nor did children's parents' cheating history. Vignette type (cheating vs. non-cheating), age group, and the interaction between vignette type and age group were significant predictors of children's ability to accurately identify behaviors that constitute cheating. Children rated cheating behaviors as significantly less moral than non-cheating behaviors. Overall, the current results provide insight into what forms of cheating behavior children engage in at the elementary school-age level.

Culturally Adapted Dental Visual Aids Effect on Behavior Management during Dental Visits in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

AIM: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by unique behavioral patterns, treating children with ASD in the dental clinic has been a great challenge due to their behavior. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of culturally adapted dental visual aids in modifying behavior patterns during dental visits in children with ASD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A controlled, blinded, randomized, clinical trial, with 64 children diagnosed with ASD, were randomly divided into two groups. The study took place between January 2019 and January 2021. The experimental group was provided with culturally adapted dental visual aids created especially for this research and the control group was provided with universal dental visual aids. The children's behavior patterns were evaluated before and after using the dental visual aids. SPSS v.25 was used to process all the data. RESULTS: Behavior patterns have modified significantly in the experimental group (p < 0.001) however, it was statistically insignificant in the control group (p = 0.077). In terms of behavioral patterns, the experimental group outperformed the control group significantly (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The culturally adapted dental visual aids have shown effectiveness in modifying behavior patterns in children diagnosed with ASD during dental visits. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: By evaluating the impact of culturally adapted visual aids on behavior management, the study can enhance the accessibility and effectiveness of dental care for this vulnerable population, ultimately promoting better oral health outcomes and reducing potential trauma associated with dental visits for children with ASD. How to cite this article: Aljubour AA, AbdElBaki M, El Meligy O, et al. Culturally Adapted Dental Visual Aids Effect on Behavior Management during Dental Visits in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Contemp Dent Pract 2024;25(1):20-28.

The short- and longer-term effects of brief behavioral parent training versus care as usual in children with behavioral difficulties: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The access to and uptake of evidence-based behavioral parent training for children with behavioral difficulties (i.e., oppositional, defiant, aggressive, hyperactive, impulsive, and inattentive behavior) are currently limited because of a scarcity of certified therapists and long waiting lists. These problems are in part due to the long and sometimes perceived as rigid nature of most evidence-based programs and result in few families starting behavioral parent training and high dropout rates. Brief and individually tailored parenting interventions may reduce these problems and make behavioral parent training more accessible. This protocol paper describes a two-arm, multi-center, randomized controlled trial on the short- and longer-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a brief, individually tailored behavioral parent training program for children with behavioral difficulties. METHODS: Parents of children aged 2-12 years referred to a child mental healthcare center are randomized to (i) three sessions of behavioral parent training with optional booster sessions or (ii) care as usual. To evaluate effectiveness, our primary outcome is the mean severity of five daily ratings by parents of four selected behavioral difficulties. Secondary outcomes include measures of parent and child behavior, well-being, and parent-child interaction. We explore whether child and parent characteristics moderate intervention effects. To evaluate cost-effectiveness, the use and costs of mental healthcare and utilities are measured. Finally, parents' and therapists' satisfaction with the brief program are explored. Measurements take place at baseline (T0), one week after the brief parent training, or eight weeks after baseline (in case of care as usual) (T1), and six months (T2) and twelve months (T3) after T1. DISCUSSION: The results of this trial could have meaningful societal implications for children with behavioral difficulties and their parents. If we find the brief behavioral parent training to be more (cost-)effective than care as usual, it could be used in clinical practice to make parent training more accessible. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05591820) on October 24th, 2022 and updated throughout the trial.

Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia moderates the within-person relations of parental emotional expressivity and children's prosocial behaviors.

Parental supportive emotional expressivity could contribute to children's prosocial behaviors, and such an effect may differ for children with different levels of resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). This study disentangled the stable differences across dyads (i.e., between-person effects) from the dynamic associations between parental expressivity and children's prosocial behaviors within dyads (i.e., within-person effects) and determined how resting RSA functioned as a susceptibility factor in such effects. The longitudinal design consisted of three measurements with a 1-year interval performed among 208 school-aged children (48.6% girls; Han nationality) and their parents (153 mothers and 55 fathers). The initial measurement was conducted when the children were 7 years old (Mage  = 7.13, SDage  = .33). Resting RSA was calculated at the first measurement; parents reported children's prosocial behaviors and parental expressivity at each of the three measurements. The results demonstrated significant between- and within-person effects of parental expressivity on children's prosocial behaviors and found a moderating role of children's resting RSA in the within-person effects. These findings suggest that children displayed more prosocial behaviors when parents showed more supportive expressivity both across and within dyads, and higher resting RSA operated as a differential susceptibility factor in the intraindividual fluctuations in parental expressivity.

Prospective associations between early childhood parental feeding practices and eating disorder symptoms and disordered eating behaviors in adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: Nonresponsive parental feeding practices are associated with poorer appetite self-regulation in children. It is unknown whether this relationship extends beyond childhood to be prospectively associated with the onset of eating disorder (ED) symptoms in adolescence. This exploratory study therefore investigated prospective associations between early childhood parental feeding practices and adolescent ED symptoms and disordered eating behaviors. METHODS: Data were from two population-based cohorts with harmonized measures: Generation R (Netherlands; n = 4900) and Gemini (UK; n = 2094). Parents self-reported their pressure to eat, restriction and instrumental feeding (i.e., using food as a reward) at child age 4-5 years. Adolescents self-reported their compensatory behaviors (e.g., fasting, purging), binge-eating symptoms, restrained eating, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating at 12-14 years. Associations between feeding practices and ED symptoms were examined separately in each cohort using generalized linear models. RESULTS: In Gemini, pressure to eat in early childhood was associated with adolescents engaging in compensatory behaviors. In Generation R, parental restriction was associated with adolescents engaging in compensatory behaviors, restrained eating, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating. Instrumental feeding was associated with uncontrolled eating and emotional eating in Generation R. DISCUSSION: Nonresponsive parental feeding practices were associated with a greater frequency of specific ED symptoms and disordered eating in adolescence, although effect sizes were small and findings were inconsistent between cohorts. Potentially, the cultural and developmental context in which child-parent feeding interactions occur is important for ED symptoms. Further replication studies are required to better understand parents' role in the development and maintenance of ED-related symptoms. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Prospective research examining how early childhood parental feeding practices might contribute to adolescent ED symptoms is limited. In two population-based cohorts, nonresponsive feeding practices (restriction, instrumental feeding, pressure to eat) predicted increased frequency of some ED symptoms and disordered eating behaviors in adolescence, although associations were small and further replication is required. Findings support the promotion of responsive feeding practices, which may benefit young children's developing relationship with food.

Trusting young children to help causes them to cheat less.

Trust and honesty are essential for human interactions. Philosophers since antiquity have long posited that they are causally linked. Evidence shows that honesty elicits trust from others, but little is known about the reverse: does trust lead to honesty? Here we experimentally investigated whether trusting young children to help can cause them to become more honest (total N = 328 across five studies; 168 boys; mean age, 5.94 years; s.d., 0.28 years). We observed kindergarten children's cheating behaviour after they had been entrusted by an adult to help her with a task. Children who were trusted cheated less than children who were not trusted. Our study provides clear evidence for the causal effect of trust on honesty and contributes to understanding how social factors influence morality. This finding also points to the potential of using adult trust as an effective method to promote honesty in children.

Maternal asthma symptoms during pregnancy on child behaviour and executive function: A Bayesian phenomics approach.

OBJECTIVE: Maternal history of inflammatory conditions has been linked to offspring developmental and behavioural outcomes. This phenomenon may be explained by the maternal immune activation (MIA) hypothesis, which posits that dysregulation of the gestational immune environment affects foetal neurodevelopment. The timing of inflammation is critical. We aimed to understand maternal asthma symptoms during pregnancy, in contrast with paternal asthma symptoms during the same period, on child behaviour problems and executive function in a population-based cohort. METHODS: Data were obtained from 844 families from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) birth cohort. Parent asthma symptoms during the prenatal period were reported. Asthma symptoms in children were reported longitudinally from two to five years old, while behavioural problems and executive functioning were obtained at seven years old. Parent and child measures were compared between mothers with and without prenatal asthma symptoms. Generalized linear and Bayesian phenomics models were used to determine the relation between parent or child asthma symptoms and child outcomes. RESULTS: Children of mothers with prenatal asthma symptoms had greater behavioural and executive problems than controls (Cohen's d: 0.43-0.75; all p < 0.05). This association remained after adjustments for emerging asthma symptoms during the preschool years and fathers' asthma symptoms during the prenatal period. After adjusting for dependence between child outcomes, the Bayesian phenomics model showed that maternal prenatal asthma symptoms were associated with child internalising symptoms and higher-order executive function, while child asthma symptoms were associated with executive function skills. Paternal asthma symptoms during the prenatal period were not associated with child outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Associations between child outcomes and maternal but not paternal asthma symptoms during the prenatal period suggests a role for MIA. These findings need to be validated in larger samples, and further research may identify behavioural and cognitive profiles of children with exposure to MIA.

Autonomous motivation, social support, and physical activity in school children: moderating effects of school-based rope skipping sports participation.

Purpose: Recent studies have shown that physical activity (PA) levels are low among children and adolescents globally. In order to reverse this trend, PA interventions are increasingly favoured. The school setting is the ideal place to address the issues that many children face. The purpose of this study was to (a) The primary focus of this study is to delve into the mediating role played by school-based rope skipping sports participation (SRSP) in the connection between social support and moderate to high-intensity physical activity (MVPA) among school children. (b) Additionally, this research aims to examine the moderating effect of within this pathway. Methods: We conducted a survey involving 721 adolescents residing in Changsha City. The participants' ages ranged from 8 to 12 years, with an average age of 9.84 ± 1.535 years. Out of these participants, 406 were boys, and 315 were girls. To assess variables such as social support and autonomous motivation, we employed standardized measurement scales. Subsequently, we analyzed the collected data using various statistical methods, including independent s-amples t-tests, bivariate correlation analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, structural equation modeling (SEM), and the Johnson-Neyman method. Results: An independent samples t-test revealed a statistically significant difference in MVPA between genders (p = 0.003 < 0.05), with boys exhibiting a higher level of engagement in MVPA compared to girls, Correlation analysis revealed significant positive associations among several key variables. Specifically, social support demonstrated a noteworthy positive correlation with autonomous motivation (r = 0.331, p < 0.01) as well as school children's engagement in MVPA (r = 0.308, p < 0.01). Moreover, autonomous motivation displayed a significant positive correlation with school children's involvement in MVPA (r = 0.459, p < 0.01). The moderating analysis revealed a significant influence of the interaction between increased participation in and social support on school children's engagement in MVPA. Conclusion: Social support and autonomy support have been proven effective in enhancing school children's engagement in MVPA. They exert their influence indirectly by fostering autonomous motivation. Notably, robust social support can significantly benefit MVPA school children with high activity requirements, particularly those regularly engaged in MVPA during the school day.