Understanding parental support of child physical activity behavior.

OBJECTIVE To examine parental support of child physical activity with an adapted theory of planned behavior model. METHODS A representative sample of Canadian mothers (N = 663) who completed measures of family priorities, social cognition, and child physical activity. RESULTS An assessment of family priorities showed that mothers ranked physical activity almost as high as homework and far higher than other activities. Attitude about providing support for child physical activity predicted intention, yet only perceived control over support predicted behavior. CONCLUSIONS Mothers perceive great import of physical activity for their children but they are inhibited by a low perception of control.