Associations between parental support and physical activity in children and adolescents with visual impairments: a mediating analysis of exercise self-efficacy.
This study highlights that both parental support and exercise self-efficacy are associated with MVPA in children and adolescents with visual impairments, with exercise self-efficacy partially mediating the relationship.
Key Findings
Results
Parental support and exercise self-efficacy were each positively correlated with objectively measured MVPA in children and adolescents with visual impairments.
Correlation with MVPA was r = 0.306 for parental support and r = 0.385 for exercise self-efficacy (both P < 0.05).
The sample was 306 children and adolescents with VI aged 7-18 (mean age 13.80 ± 2.94 years) from specialized schools in East China.
PA was measured objectively with accelerometers, and MVPA was extracted for analysis.
Results
Parental support had a significant total effect on MVPA.
Total effect: β = 0.379, 95% CI [0.226-0.523], P = 0.000.
Effects were estimated with structural equation modeling and the bias-corrected percentile bootstrap method.
The design was cross-sectional, so the effects describe associations rather than causal effects.
Results
Parental support had a significant direct effect on MVPA that was independent of exercise self-efficacy.
Direct effect: β = 0.293, 95% CI [0.140-0.438], P = 0.000.
The direct effect accounted for most of the total effect (0.293 of 0.379).
Results
Exercise self-efficacy partially mediated the association between parental support and MVPA.
Indirect effect through ESE: β = 0.085, 95% CI [0.039-0.146], P = 0.000.
The confidence interval excludes zero, and the direct effect remained significant, so the mediation was partial.
The indirect effect accounted for a smaller share of the total effect (0.085 of 0.379).
Results
Exercise self-efficacy had its own significant direct effect on MVPA.
Direct effect of ESE on MVPA: β = 0.35, 95% CI [0.229-0.450], P < 0.001.
Results
The structural model explained 26.3% of the variance in MVPA.
The model included parental support as the predictor and exercise self-efficacy as the mediator.
About 74% of the variance in MVPA was left unexplained by the model.
Background
The study addressed a gap in understanding how parental support relates to PA in youth with VI, particularly the mediating role of exercise self-efficacy.
Parental support is a known social determinant of PA in typically developing youth, but its mechanisms in VI populations were unclear.
Functional impairment often leads to reduced PA, with declines in health and quality of life.
Data were collected from September to December 2024 using convenience sampling.
What This Means
This study looked at whether support from parents is linked to how much moderate-to-vigorous physical activity children and teenagers with visual impairments get. It included 306 young people aged 7 to 18 from specialized schools in East China. Activity was measured objectively with accelerometers (wearable motion sensors), and questionnaires measured parental support for activity and the children's exercise self-efficacy, meaning their confidence in their ability to exercise.
Both parental support and exercise self-efficacy were positively linked to the amount of vigorous activity the young people did. Parental support was associated with more activity directly. It was also associated with more activity indirectly, because it was linked to higher exercise self-efficacy, which in turn was linked to more activity. Most of the link was direct, and a smaller part ran through self-efficacy. The statistical model explained about 26% of the differences in activity levels, so many other factors also matter.
This research suggests that family support and children's confidence in exercising may both be useful targets for programs aiming to raise activity in youth with visual impairments. The study was cross-sectional, a snapshot at one time point, so it cannot show that parental support causes more activity. It used a convenience sample from one region of China, so the results may not apply everywhere.
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Dou L, Chen H, Lu E. (2026). Associations between parental support and physical activity in children and adolescents with visual impairments: a mediating analysis of exercise self-efficacy.. PeerJ. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.21871