School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
BMC Public Health. 2022 May 28;22(1):1065. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13493-2.
The neighbourhood social environment (NSE) has been associated with physical activity and screen time behaviours in adults and youth however less is known about this relationship in preschool-aged children (2-5 years). This study seeks to explore associations between the NSE and the physical activity and screen time behaviours of preschool-aged children.
Cross-sectional data was collected in 2019. Parents (n = 214) of preschool-aged children (m = 3.8 ± 0.8 years), from 187 different Australian postcodes representing all states and territories were invited to complete an online survey where they answered questions about their NSE (perceived social cohesion, social interaction, sense of community, social norms and neighbourhood crime) and proxy-reported their child's usual physical activity and screen time (minutes/day). Two hierarchical linear regressions were run separately to assess relationships between NSE predictor variables and physical activity and screen time. Three logistic regressions were run to determine associations between NSE constructs and the likelihood of meeting: 1) physical activity (≥ 180 min/day including ≥ 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity), 2) screen time (≤ 60 min/day) and 3) both physical activity and screen time guidelines. Child age, gender, childcare attendance, and neighbourhood level socioeconomic status (SES) were controlled for in all analyses.
Social interaction was associated with increased daily physical activity (b = 17.76, 95%CI = 0.81, 34.71), decreased daily screen time (b = -12.77, 95%CI = -23.23, -2.23) and improved the likelihood of meeting physical activity (OR = 1.81, 95%CI = 1.20, 2.75) and combined physical activity and screen time guidelines (OR = 1.51, 95%CI = 1.03, 2.21). Higher neighbourhood crime was associated with a lower likelihood of meeting screen time guidelines (OR = 0.47, 95%CI = 0.47, 0.99). Social cohesion, sense of community and social norms were not statistically significant predictors of daily physical activity, screen time or meeting guidelines.
Social interaction showed the most consistent associations with physical activity and screen time. Future research should consider potential mediators of this relationship, including parental facilitation of children's outdoor time. Improving understanding of the relationship between the NSE and physical activity and screen time in young children can help to guide community-based initiatives striving to optimise behavioural, health and social outcomes.
邻里社会环境（NSE）与成年人和青少年的身体活动和屏幕时间行为有关，但对于学龄前儿童（2-5 岁），人们对此类关系知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨 NSE 与学龄前儿童身体活动和屏幕时间行为之间的关联。
横断面数据于 2019 年收集。邀请来自 187 个不同澳大利亚邮区的 214 名学龄前儿童（m=3.8±0.8 岁）的家长完成在线调查，回答有关他们的邻里社会环境（感知社会凝聚力、社会互动、社区意识、社会规范和邻里犯罪）和代理报告其孩子的日常身体活动和屏幕时间（分钟/天）的问题。分别进行了两次分层线性回归，以评估 NSE 预测变量与身体活动和屏幕时间之间的关系。进行了三次逻辑回归，以确定 NSE 结构与满足以下条件的可能性之间的关联：1）身体活动（≥180 分钟/天，包括≥60 分钟的中等至剧烈强度），2）屏幕时间（≤60 分钟/天），3）同时满足身体活动和屏幕时间指南。在所有分析中均控制了儿童年龄、性别、日托出勤率和邻里社会经济地位（SES）。
社会互动与日常身体活动增加有关（b=17.76，95%CI=0.81，34.71），日常屏幕时间减少（b=-12.77，95%CI=-23.23，-2.23），并提高了满足身体活动（OR=1.81，95%CI=1.20，2.75）和综合身体活动和屏幕时间指南（OR=1.51，95%CI=1.03，2.21）的可能性。较高的邻里犯罪率与较低的满足屏幕时间指南的可能性相关（OR=0.47，95%CI=0.47，0.99）。社会凝聚力、社区意识和社会规范与日常身体活动、屏幕时间或满足指南均无统计学意义上的显著预测关系。
社会互动与身体活动和屏幕时间的关联最为一致。未来的研究应考虑这种关系的潜在中介因素，包括父母促进孩子户外活动的能力。提高对 NSE 与幼儿身体活动和屏幕时间之间关系的理解，可以帮助指导以社区为基础的举措，努力优化行为、健康和社会成果。
