AUTHOR=Kieslinger Katrin , Wartha Olivia , Pollatos Olga , Steinacker Jürgen M. , Kobel Susanne 

TITLE=Parental Self-Efficacy—A Predictor of Children's Health Behaviors? Its Impact on Children's Physical Activity and Screen Media Use and Potential Interaction Effect Within a Health Promotion Program

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.712796

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.712796

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>Insufficient physical activity (PA) and increased screen media use (SMU) can have detrimental effects on children's health. Parental self-efficacy (PSE) can act as an important predictor for a healthy upbringing. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of PSE on children's PA and SMU. Additionally, a moderating effect of PSE on the intervention effect of the health promotion program “Join the Healthy Boat” was examined. Using a prospective randomized controlled trial, 558 kindergarten children (3.6 years [<italic>SD</italic> = 0.6]) were examined. Data was collected using parental self-report. A significant influence of PSE on children's PA (<italic>B</italic> = 0.33, <italic>p</italic> = 0.025) and children's SMU (<italic>B</italic> = 0.42, <italic>p</italic> = 0.006) was found. The moderating effect of PSE on the intervention effect was neither significantly related to children's PA (<italic>p</italic> = 0.360) nor to children's SMU (<italic>p</italic> = 0.531). This confirms the importance of PSE on children's health development. Despite the lack of a moderating effect, interventions should also promote healthy activity behaviors and self-efficacy for parents in order to engage children in a healthy lifestyle.</p>