Assessing the social and physical contexts of children's leisure-time physical activity: an ecological momentary assessment study.
OBJECTIVE
To use Ecological Momentary Assessment with mobile phones to describe where and with whom children's leisure-time physical activity occurs.


METHODS
Repeated assessments across 4 days (Friday-Monday) during nonschool time (20 total).


METHODS
Chino, California, and surrounding communities.


METHODS
Primarily low to middle income children (N =121; aged 9-13 years; x¯=11.0 years, SD =1.2 years; 52% male, 38% Hispanic/Latino).


METHODS
Electronic surveys measured current activity (e.g., active play/sports/exercise, watching TV/movies), social company (e.g., family, friends, alone), physical location (e.g., home, outdoors, school), and other perceived contextual features (e.g., safety, traffic, vegetation, distance from home). Analysis . Multilevel linear and multinomial logistic regression.


RESULTS
Most of children's physical activity occurred outdoors (away from home) (42%), followed by at home (indoors) (30%), front/backyard (at home) (8%), someone else's house (8%), at a gym/recreation center (3%), and other locations (9%). Children's physical activity took place most often with multiple categories of people together (e.g., friends and family) (39%), followed by family members only (32%), alone (15%), and with friends only (13%). Age, weight status, income, and racial/ethnic differences in physical activity contexts were observed.


CONCLUSIONS
The most frequently reported contexts for children's leisure time physical activity were outdoors and with family members and friends together.
Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, 1000 S. Fremont Avenue, Alhambra, CA 91803, USA. dunton@usc.edu
Genevieve Fridlund
GF
Dunton
Keito
K
Kawabata
Stephen
S
Intille
Jennifer
J
Wolch
Mary Ann
MA
Pentz
D000293:Adolescent; D002140:California; D040421:Cell Phone; D002648:Child; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities / Q000523:psychology*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D012931:Social Environment; D013997:Time Factors