Family Process and Parent's Leisure Time Physical Activity

OBJECTIVE: To examine relations between family environment and parent's leisure-time physical activity conceived as a system of interdependent variables (LTPA-specific variables) including family rules, support, and exercise activity. METHODS: Family environment was described using site of residence and a family typology. Two-way MANCOVA on the LTPA-specific scores were conducted for 533 male and 603 female parents from a community sample. RESULTS: Main effects for family type, site of residence, and a significant family type by site of residence interaction were found. There were gender-specific patterns of LTPA-specific scores. CONCLUSION: Different families may have different mechanisms of influence on physical activity habits.