Early Care and Education Center Environmental Factors Associated with Product- and Process-Based Locomotor Outcomes in Preschool-Age Children

Jacob Szeszulski, Elizabeth Lorenzo, Michael Todd, Teresia M. O’Connor, Jennie Hill, Gabriel Q. Shaibi, Sonia Vega-López, Matthew P. Buman, Steven P. Hooker and Rebecca E. Lee
Additional contact information
Jacob Szeszulski: Institute for Advancing Health through Agriculture, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, 17360 Coit Rd., Dallas, TX 75252, USA
Elizabeth Lorenzo: Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, 550 North 3rd St., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Michael Todd: College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, 550 North 3rd St., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Teresia M. O’Connor: USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates Ave., Houston, TX 77030, USA
Jennie Hill: Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Utah, 201 Presidents’ Cir, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Gabriel Q. Shaibi: Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, 550 North 3rd St., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Sonia Vega-López: College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, 550 North 5th St., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Matthew P. Buman: College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, 550 North 5th St., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Steven P. Hooker: College of Health and Human Services, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr., San Diego, CA 92182, USA
Rebecca E. Lee: College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, 550 North 5th St., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: Environmental characteristics of early care and education centers (ECECs) are an important context for preschool-aged children’s development, but few studies have examined their relationship with children’s locomotor skills. We examined the association between characteristics of the ECEC environment with quantitatively (i.e., product-based) and qualitatively (i.e., process-based) measured locomotor skills, using the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) and the locomotor portion of the Children’s Activity and Movement in Preschool Study (CHAMPS) motor skills protocol (CMSP), respectively. ECEC characteristics included outdoor and indoor play environment quality, outdoor and indoor play equipment, screen-time environment quality, and policy environment quality. Mean (SD) scores for the PACER ( n = 142) and CSMP ( n = 91) were 3.7 ± 2.3 laps and 19.0 ± 5.5 criteria, respectively, which were moderately correlated with each other (Pearson r = 0.5; p < 0.001). Linear regression models revelated that a better policy environment score was associated with fewer PACER laps. Better outdoor play and screen-time environment quality scores and more outdoor play equipment were positively associated with higher CMSP scores. ECEC environments that reflect best practice guidelines may be opportunities for locomotor skills development in preschool-aged children. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03261492 (8/25/17).

Keywords: Latinos; social ecology; child day care centers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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