Disability Type and Constraints to Leisure-Time Physical Activity in Türkiye.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the effect of disability type on perceived physical activity (PA) constraints. Investigating the leisure-time PA constraint differences across disability groups would increase the possibility of PA participation, and reverse the physical inactivity trend for disabled populations. OBJECTIVE: The purpose was to examine perceived PA constraint differences between individuals with 3 different disability types, which are visual, hearing, and physical disabilities. METHODS: The study sample comprised 305 individuals with a visual disability, 203 individuals with a physical disability, and 144 individuals with hearing loss. Leisure Time PA Constraints Scale-Disabled Individuals Form, consisting of 32 items and 8 subscales, was used as for data collection. Data were analyzed with a 3 × 2 two-way multivariate analysis of variance. RESULTS: Findings indicated a significant main effect of the disability group (Pillai V = 0.025; F16,639 = 10.132, P < .001, η2 = .112), gender (Pillai V = 0.250; F8,639 = 2.025, P < .05, η2 = .025), and interaction between the disability group and gender (Pillai V = 0.069; F161,280 = 2.847, P < .001, η2 = .034). The follow-up analyses of variance indicated significant differences in facility quality, social environment, family, willpower, time, and ability perception scores between disability groups, P < .05. CONCLUSIONS: People with different disabilities have different perceived leisure-time PA barriers with respect to environmental, social, and psychological factors; generally, disabled females perceived more barriers to leisure-time PA. Policies and intervention protocols for disabled individuals should directly address the disability-specific need of individuals to increase leisure-time PA participation.

Physical literacy in Europe: The current state of implementation in research, practice, and policy.

Background/objective: The holistic concept of physical literacy (PL) embraces different person-centered qualities (physical, cognitive, affective/psychological) necessary to lead physically active lifestyles. PL has recently gained increasing attention globally and Europe is no exception. However, scientific endeavors summarizing the current state of PL in Europe are lacking. Therefore, the goal of this study was to comprehensively assess and compare the implementation of PL in research, policy, and practice across the continent. Methods: We assembled a panel of experts representing 25 European countries. Employing a complementary mixed-methods design, the experts first prepared reviews about the current state of PL in their countries (categories: research, practice/policy). The reviews underwent comparative document analysis, ensuring a transnational four-eyes principle. For re-validation purposes, the representatives completed a quantitative survey with questions reflecting the inductive themes from the document analysis. Results: The document analysis resulted in ten disjunct themes (related to "concept", "research", "practice/policy", "future/prospect") and yielded a heterogenous PL situation in Europe. The implementation state was strongly linked to conceptual discussions (e.g., existence of competing approaches), linguistic issues (e.g., translations), and country-specific traditions. Despite growing scholarly attention, PL hesitantly permeates practice and policy in most countries. Nevertheless, the experts largely anticipate increasing popularity of PL for the future. Conclusion: Despite the heterogeneous situation across Europe, the analysis has uncovered similarities among the countries, such as the presence of established yet not identical concepts. Research should intensify academic activities (conceptual-linguistic elaborations, empirical work) before PL may gain further access into practical and political spheres in the long term.

The association of various social capital indicators and physical activity participation among Turkish adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity participation (PAP) has been proven to improve health and promote optimal growth among adolescents. However, most adolescents do not meet the current physical activity (PA) recommendations in Turkey. The role of the social environment and social factors on PAP is being increasingly recognized. Although social capital (SC) indicators have been examined in high-income countries, there are few studies on developing countries. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between SC indicators and PAP among Turkish adolescents. METHODS: A survey was conducted among 19 high schools in 4 different cities in Turkey in 2016. A total of 506 female and 729 male high school students participated in this study. The dependent variable was overall PAP, which was measured using the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The independent variables included self-perceived family, neighborhood, and school SC. Self-rated health and obesity status, measured by body mass index, were other study covariates in multiple binary logistic regression models. Chi-square tests were used to assess the differences between genders. RESULTS: PAP levels were significantly different between males and females. A higher percentage of males reported PAP (77.4%) compared to females (51.0%). Among males, teacher-student interpersonal trust and informal social control were inversely associated with PAP, while high students interpersonal trust was positively associated with increased odds of PAP. For females, students interpersonal trust was inversely associated with PAP. CONCLUSION: Various SC indicators are associated with PAP for males and females. These associations are different from findings of studies conducted in developed countries. Therefore, health-promotion interventions and policies should consider gender and different social agents on the social and cultural background to improve PAP among Turkish adolescents.