) Evidence is building to support physical activity as a modifiable lifestyle factor in cancer prevention, both directly and indirectly through obesity prevention. However, as stated in the NIH/NCI PA-99-163, """"""""only a small proportion of the U.S. population participates in regular physical activity. Robust methods must be developed to examine and explain the determinants of changes in these behaviors."""""""" Rates of sedentary behavior are rising in adults and children, as are rates of obesity. Physical inactivity will likely continue to increase over time without the development of successful physical activity interventions. However, successful interventions against sedentary behavior cannot be developed without a better understanding of the determinants of physical activity behaviors. Our research and that of others among adults has shown that how we perceive ourselves athletically and how others perceive us are plausible determinants of whether we are physically active. In this application, in an ethnically diverse sample, we propose to construct and validate a psychometric scale that measures parental beliefs about their 4th and 5th grade children and physical activity as determinants of children's athletic identity and participation in physical activity. Identity formation begins in childhood and is strongly influenced by parents, who can encourage or discourage developing athletic identities. Since people are resistant to change of ingrained identities that are firmly supported by social structure, parental influence on a child's athletic identity could have far reaching implications on how much physical activity they do. Understanding how parents influence children's physical activity and the ethnic/cultural differences which likely exist will provide a new mechanism for change in future interventions to increase regular physical activity and thereby reduce the risk of several activity-related cancers. Long-term physical activity patterns that are sustained over many years likely reflect a core aspect of the self: a relevant self-definition as a physically active person that is initiated in childhood. Our project represents an innovative approach to understanding and increasing regular physical activity in the primary prevention of cancer.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Small Research Grants (R03)
Project #
1R03CA090185-01
Application #
6311057
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZCA1-SRRB-K (O1))
Program Officer
Agurs-Collins, Tanya
Project Start
2001-04-01
Project End
2003-03-31
Budget Start
2001-04-01
Budget End
2002-03-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2001
Total Cost
$74,896
Indirect Cost
Name
Baylor College of Medicine
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
074615394
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77030
Fuemmeler, Bernard F; Anderson, Cheryl B; Masse, Louise C (2011) Parent-child relationship of directly measured physical activity. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 8:17
Anderson, Cheryl Braselton; Masse, Louise C; Zhang, Hong et al. (2011) Ethnic, gender, and BMI differences in athletic identity in children and adolescents. J Phys Act Health 8:200-9
Anderson, Cheryl B; Hughes, Sheryl O; Fuemmeler, Bernard F (2009) Parent-child attitude congruence on type and intensity of physical activity: testing multiple mediators of sedentary behavior in older children. Health Psychol 28:428-38
Anderson, Cheryl B; Mâsse, Louise C; Zhang, Hong et al. (2009) Contribution of athletic identity to child and adolescent physical activity. Am J Prev Med 37:220-6
Anderson, Cheryl B; Coleman, Karen J (2008) Adaptation and validation of the athletic identity questionnaire-adolescent for use with children. J Phys Act Health 5:539-58
Anderson, Cheryl B; Masse, Louise C; Hergenroeder, Albert C (2007) Factorial and construct validity of the athletic identity questionnaire for adolescents. Med Sci Sports Exerc 39:59-69
Anderson, Cheryl B; Hagstromer, Maria; Yngve, Agneta (2005) Validation of the PDPAR as an adolescent diary: effect of accelerometer cut points. Med Sci Sports Exerc 37:1224-30
Anderson, Cheryl B (2003) When more is better: number of motives and reasons for quitting as correlates of physical activity in women. Health Educ Res 18:525-37
Anderson, Cheryl B; Pollak, Kathryn I; Wetter, David W (2002) Relations between self-generated positive and negative expected smoking outcomes and smoking behavior: an exploratory study among adolescents. Psychol Addict Behav 16:196-204