Environmental Factors that Influence Physical Activity Participation in Children and Youth: A Synthesis of the Literature

Abstract

Physical activity participation in children and youth is widely regarded as important to ensure proper health. There are many environmental factors that contribute to children and youth being able to participate in physical activity on a daily basis. This synthesis reviewed literature regarding environmental factors that influence physical activity participation in children and youth. Data was collected using the EBSCOHOST search engine, found on The College at Brockport’s Drake Memorial Library online research website. Key words in SPORTDiscus and Academic Search Complete databases were combined to obtain 10 studies that focused on this synthesis’s purpose and research questions. A synthesis data coding table was compiled with the data from each article. The following five research questions were answered: (a) what are physical activity (PA) patterns of participation like in children and youth? How and when do they change over time, (b) what factors influence PA participation in children and youth, (c) what are the facilitators and barriers to PA participation in children and youth, (d) how are the factors that influence participation in PA different for high SES and low SES children and youth and (e) how are the factors that influence participation in PA different for urban and rural children and youth? Results indicated factors that contributed to PA participation in children and youth included SES status, urban/rural location, accessibility/availability, gender, race/ethnicity, and technology. Major factor that contributed to PA participation in children and youth included the safety of parks and facilities, and distance. These are two factors that were found within youth of both high and low SES and urban/rural locations.