Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Higher self-efficacy is strongly associated with greater levels of physical activity in children and adolescents. However, our understanding of the long-term relationship between self-efficacy and physical activity is very limited. Therefore,the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of self-efficacy on sedentary behaviours and physical activity patterns in school-aged children over time. 2278 10-year-old children were followed up from 2005 to 2008. All children completed two questionnaires measuring self-efficacy (confidence in, preference for, and enjoyment) and physical activity patterns (sedentary behaviours, free play, and organized activity), respectively. The results found that children's free play increased and organized activity decreased over time. In addition, although children with high adequacy had higher free play and organized activity relative to other children, this effect diminished over time. Children with high predilection also had higher free play and organized activity, but the gaps between groups widened over time. Lastly, while sedentary behaviours were lower over time in children with high prediction, it was consistently higher in children with high enjoyment. The differences in sedentary behaviours between groups increased over time for both predilection and enjoyment. Overall, this study found that higher self-efficacy is related to greater participation in physical activity, and that the impact of predilection increases over time, which either facilitates the participation in free play, or buffers the decrease in organized play and the increase in sedentary behaviours. Thus, in order to improve children's physical health, interventions targeting on the enhancement of predilection may facilitate physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviours.