Psychosocial barriers to playground activity levels

Objective: This research investigates whether psychosocial and

physical variables affect children's school playground physical

activity levels.

Methods: Self-report questionnaires, designed using social cognitive

theory, surveyed nine principals, 84 teachers and 468 children from

13 regional Australian primary schools to determine which barriers

affect children's school break time playground physical activity.

Results: Students believed their activity was affected by: the

weather (77%), lack of time (44%), bullying (21 %) and school

uniforms (21 %); significant variables were: fear of bullying, fear

of getting hurt, being shy, and a dislike of being active. Teachers

believed children's activity was affected by a lack of: playground

markings (43%), games courts (42%), staff (39%) and the potential

for injury (39%); significant variables were: lack of games courts and

lack of fixed and non-fixed equipment.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that future research should

include psychosocial and physical barriers when investigating