Free time and in school physical activity profiles of children aged 11–18 in the United Kingdom: a latent class analysis

Article

Buscombe, R., Watts, P., Jafar Junior, M., Dauenhauer, B., Ha, T. and Dryer, G. 2025. Free time and in school physical activity profiles of children aged 11–18 in the United Kingdom: a latent class analysis. Journal of Public Health. p. In press. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-025-02530-0
AuthorsBuscombe, R., Watts, P., Jafar Junior, M., Dauenhauer, B., Ha, T. and Dryer, G.
Abstract

Aim
This study investigated whether children cluster in discrete groups based on their engagement with physical activity within and outside the school setting.

Subject and methods
This study analysed 68,484 self-report instances of physical activity behaviour in secondary school aged (11–18 years) children in the United Kingdom. Data was collected over one calendar year via the miMove digital platform with children self-reporting activity type, duration, location and emotional response post activity. The activity characteristics for each child were subject to a latent class analysis (LCA) with gender, year group, special educational needs and disability status (SEND) and pupil premium (PP) serving as covariates.

Results
Five discrete heterogenous classes emerged with structural equation modelling being used to examine the association between class membership and emotional response while controlling for the covariates. Significant differences emerged between the latent activity classes in terms of the average emotional responses to activities. There was no association between PP and SEND with emotional response; however, girls overall reported a more negative response to physical activity than boys with affective valence reported as more negative in the older groups.

Conclusion
The findings of this study can be used by educators and individuals working to increase physical activity in young people by informing both curriculum design and choice around the provision of out of school activity options.

JournalJournal of Public Health
Journal citationp. In press
ISSN1613-2238
2198-1833
Year2025
PublisherSpringer Nature
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Anyone
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-025-02530-0
Publication dates
Online16 Jun 2025
Publication process dates
Accepted23 May 2025
Deposited17 Jun 2025
Copyright holder© 2025 The Authors
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