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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1430002
This article is part of the Research Topic Psychological Factors in Physical Education and Sport - Volume V View all 13 articles

Factors that Influence Participation in Physical Activity in Chinese Teenagers: Perspective of School Educators and Parents in Respect of the Social Ecology Model

Provisionally accepted
Donglin Hu Donglin Hu 1*Shi Zhou Shi Zhou 2Zachary James Crowley-McHattan Zachary James Crowley-McHattan 2Zhiyun Liu Zhiyun Liu 3
  • 1 Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
  • 2 Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia
  • 3 Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The objective of this study was to explore the viewpoints of parents, teachers and administrators on the factors influencing adolescent physical activity in China. The study employed semi-structured interviews with school teachers, school principals, government officers, and parents. 25 participants were recruited from Jiangsu Province and completed the interview. The data collected were analysed utilising the grounded theory within the social ecology model framework. The analysis identified 49 concepts across 19 subcategories and five main categories. The resulting theoretical model, constructed using the grounded theory, integrated five main categories, namely individual factors, family environment, school environment, community environment, and policy. This model provided a foundational understanding of the multifaceted influencing factors of adolescent physical activity in China.

    Keywords: physical activity, Children, adolescents, Social Ecology Model, The grounded theory

    Received: 09 May 2024; Accepted: 30 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Hu, Zhou, Crowley-McHattan and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Donglin Hu, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

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