Multilevel determinants of paternal and child physical activity: qualitative research using dyadic interviews among Mexican heritage fathers living near the Texas-Mexico border | BMC Public Health

Fathers within this study had a mean age of 41.2 years (SD = 9.6); most were born in Mexico (n = 24, 80.0%), employed full-time (n = 17, 56.7%), and did not complete high school (n = 21, 70.0%). Fathers mentioned policy, environment, interpersonal, and intrapersonal level factors influencing their own and their children’s PA.

Conceptual framework

Figure 1 reflects the interactions between policy environment, physical environment, interpersonal, or intrapersonal level themes expressed by fathers in this study. Environmental and policy-level barriers were often addressed using interpersonal support systems. Intrapersonal-level paternal beliefs, recall, and physical and mental health were also strong motivators for fathers to engage in PA with their children (Fig. 1). Resilience, defined as positive adaptation despite adversity, was demonstrated by fathers to overcome the myriad policy environment, physical environment, interpersonal, and paternal intrapersonal level barriers to PA they faced [63]. Fathers expressed that PA held great meaning in their lives in its ability to promote health, develop their sense of self, fulfill their role as fathers, create opportunities for culturally significant activities, and connect them with their local community and nature.

Policy influences on PA

Although policies were not frequently discussed in relation to PA, participants did outline how some distal factors influenced their own and their child’s PA. Policies are less changeable or under the control of the fathers in this study, but had a profound impact on PA opportunities and resources.

Parking, traffic investment, and planning policies were important for child PA, given that traffic was a major safety concern related to playing outdoors and many fathers reported that they lived near busy roads:

I don’t like to leave them outside because, since it’s not fenced in or anything… you just had a distracted [moment] and the kid is going to the road and well, there they do drive fast. And that’s why just while I’m outside, then when I go inside, I bring them in with me. But I don’t like them, them to be there alone there.

Fathers discussed providing supervision, enforcing strict safety rules, providing transportation to safer PA opportunities, or redirecting children to play indoors as adaptive strategies to overcome traffic and planning barriers to PA (Table 2).

Public infrastructure investments were also discussed as impacting PA, in both indoor and outdoor spaces (Table 2). There was a desire for additional PA resources for people of all ages in colonias:

That, what’s more, even in Mexico that is a really very poor place, you still see {soccer} fields. Places where you can get distracted. You see a lot, a lot of activity from the kids… compared to what we see here, it’s nothing not even close.

They want to play a sport, they want to play {soccer}, they want to play {basketball}, that park is even more useful for them, but there aren’t enough for everyone..

Strategies to overcome poor investment in public infrastructure include reserving time to travel longer distances to parks or recreational facilities on the weekend and prioritizing PA in/around the home (Table 2). Fathers emphasized that increasing the number of neighborhood parks would not only make it easier to support their children’s physical activity but also enhance overall quality of life in colonias.

Law enforcement policies and funding were another barrier to PA mentioned by participants. This theme was relevant when fathers discussed their immigration status, given that immigration enforcement was a barrier to traveling to different PA opportunities out of fear of being stopped, questioned, incarcerated, and/or deported (see Table 2). Law enforcement also reportedly frequently surveilled participants’ neighborhoods:

The police pass by alot, and one time they passed and saw a ton of kids… Where I used to live and they even came down on me, it all came down on me. They even wanted to take my children away because they were out playing on the side like that.

I worked it out, we all went to Juarez, no ~ a year ago. That was a year ago, I sorted out their papers.… I couldn’t take my nephew with me of, he doesn’t have papers. He’s here right now, well he’s just in school. But my wife wants to get him a permiso but there wasn’t, wasn’t time and I just went like that. But I did take him, {I mean}, we do, do go out and around, and when there’s a chance we go anywhere [around] here.

Strategies to overcome these barriers to PA included refraining from longer-distance travel, pursuing citizenship for family members, and increasing parental supervision for outdoor PA (Table 2).

Low access to jobs was a major barrier to PA. Many participants mentioned working low-paying jobs with long work hours, manual labor, or seasonal travel commitments:

I worked years ago, I worked when I was in the {Border Patrol}. The ~ was 24 h that I had to work and sometimes I didn’t get [home]. And sometimes I got used to not even see my wife, or the kids because, well, there wasn’t time, they went to school. But at the same time you lose that affection with the kids, you lose that opportunity to get them, to take them to play or to eat together and all that.

Given that fathers felt a responsibility to provide for their families, strategies to overcome long work hours to engage in PA included installing lights for outdoor PA or engaging in indoor play, or resorting to sedentary activities with their children (Table 2).

Fathers mentioned school policies that made it difficult for children to miss school or caused them to miss PA opportunities after school (Table 2). Participants also discussed the importance of schools for providing PA opportunities:

I remember that when they had the {open gym}, they would open the school gym as well and, I didn’t, in reality I don’t know why they don’t do it anymore, because it’s a public school. They should do it by law, but they don’t, they don’t do it.

Fathers did not mention many strategies to overcome school policies that inhibited PA for their children (Table 2).

Environmental influences on PA

Access to environmental PA resources, and particularly outdoor PA opportunities, was mentioned as important for promoting or inhibiting PA.

To start, neighborhood resources and PA opportunities were mentioned often and mostly included streets, sidewalks, neighbors houses, local parks, and nearby sports facilities. Parks were identified as places that support culturally relevant activities, such as football, soccer, and fishing. Fathers viewed taking their children to parks or other public spaces as important opportunities for both bonding and PA. Neighborhood spaces facilitated social interaction between children, and were places where parents shared the responsibilities of supervising play:

When we used to live in the apartments, there were a lot of, like you say, there were a lot of kids that went and played, and many of those kids were the kind that the moms or dads didn’t take care of. So since it is an apartment and it’s enclosed, well, the whole afternoon since they get out of school, they are up and down, and it gets dark, and those kids are still outside.

Strategies to facilitate PA in neighborhood spaces included coordinating with neighbors to provide regular parental supervision, providing opportunities for children to play with one another, and providing transportation to local parks and recreational facilities (Table 2). Environmental resources/opportunities around the home or yard were also seen as.

crucial for PA. Fathers mentioned a high need for parental social support and supervision when children were playing outside the home. Fathers also participated in housework with their children in the yard (Table 2). It was mentioned that sons were more frequently asked to do outdoor, manual labor or housework (e.g., mowing the lawn) compared to daughters who assisted more with indoor chores:

Yes, we get [home] later at night, because, the night falls… We pick up everything that’s on the floor, the trash, everything, we clean the yard, clean the house. So we are, ~ all of us cleaning there. And they helped inside. I have three girls. ~ two older ones and a little one. The oldest help mom inside and the boy here outside with me, the other one. He’s thirteen already, {so} he’s picking up [stuff], he mows the lawn, cleaning. And he helps when I do jobs there at home, mechanic [work].

Strategies to facilitate PA in outdoor environments included buying or building/creating PA equipment (e.g., soccer nets), installing lighting, providing supervision and social support for outdoor PA, and creating rules meant to ensure safety (e.g., stay away from traffic, avoid strangers) (Table 2).

Environmental resources/opportunities inside the home were mentioned as important for facilitating PA especially when it is dark outside, children lacked supervision, or outdoor environments were unsafe (Table 2):

Because when my wife is there alone, well she says, “Man, to have them there outside.” “Some take off that way to the street and others the other way and I can’t watch them anymore.” And that’s why no, she doesn’t take them out, but there inside the house keep in mind that they have a track. From some rooms to another and then back.

Strategies to facilitate indoor PA included buying PA equipment (e.g., active video games, dance videos), assigning active housework/chores, allowing children to invite friends over, or creating physical space for PA (e.g., indoor track, playroom) (Table 2).

Sedentary opportunities were commonly discussed. Participants discussed some sedentary family bonding activities, including going to the movies or watching television (Table 2). Some fathers also discussed how their children preferred sedentary activities over PA:

She likes soccer and, and l-, the {hobby}, like they say, of hers, is drawing… But I don’t know she does it, but she taught herself and it’s what she does, draw and draw all day. Her free time is drawing.

Strategies to avoid excess sedentary behavior and promote PA included restricting screen time for children and encouraging children to spend time outdoors (Table 2).

Interpersonal influences on PA

Family was an important factor influencing father and child PA, and included factors like family structure and size, extended family dynamics, routines, and the importance of family. Strategies to promote PA amid family dynamics included incorporating PA into family routines or providing PA opportunities that appealed to the interests of all family members (Table 2).

Parental and caregiving roles included participant perceptions of their roles as parents (e.g., modeling, quality time, teaching, discipline) and caregivers (e.g., caring for grandparents, nephews/nieces). Fathers mentioned that it was their responsibility to provide PA opportunities, which seemed to be a prominent motivator for maintaining regular PA (Table 2):

I mean, they feel good when, when their dad’s with them, “Let’s go play ball, let’s go play here, let’s go play this. Any game that they, be with them when they’re playing, right? So they feel, “Oh, yeah, look, my dad. He was playing with me.

Strategies to promote PA as part of parental roles included using PA to bond with children, assisting their children to explore PA that appeals to them, and providing structure and rules for their children as they engaged in PA (Table 2).

Occupation roles were mentioned as a major barrier to PA with children. Fathers reported long work hours and inconsistent work schedules, which often caused them to get home after dark (Table 2). They also noted that jobs requiring physical labor caused them to be tired and have less capacity to engage in PA with their children upon returning home:

I get home really late from work and now it’s already getting dark really early. And well I leave at five, six in the morning to work and I get home at six and the day that I get out early, well we go over there. Like I say, fishing or making time to go out and about. But almost always, always well really just getting home and playing with them there because there’s no time.

Strategies discussed by fathers to overcome occupational barriers to engaging in PA with their children included making sure to make time for PA after work (even in the dark) and spending days off at parks or other PA destinations (Table 2).

Household roles were mentioned by fathers as often entailing PA, taking place outdoors, and involving their children. Fathers expressed certain gender norms around the types of household tasks they were responsible for and made it a priority to teach their children these tasks (Table 2):

He is the youngest and he is the most helpful out of, all my kids, he is the one that… I going around doing something, right? At home, like mechanical work or construction and he is the one that is right there helping me.

Strategies to promote PA while accomplishing household roles included involving children in the tasks and using active household tasks as a chance to bond with their children (Table 2).

Culture and norms were important for PA according to fathers in this study. This included culturally relevant PA (e.g., football/soccer, fishing), gender norms for PA and parenting, cultural norms around family gatherings, and community social cohesion (Table 2).

You can tell that the dad is the motivation in the house because if I go outside to get in shape, man, all the herd comes with me, right, and if I go inside, they go inside. I mean, what am I trying to get across? That I’m like the teacher of, of my kids at home.

Fathers identified strategies to promote PA that aligned with cultural norms including making time to teach their children soccer or other culturally relevant pastimes, taking on PA promotion as part of their role as fathers, and spending time with extended family (Table 2).

Community was an important facilitator for PA among children and provided important support for fathers as they promoted PA in their families. This was especially important when fathers did not have the social support within their family unit to accomplish certain tasks or facilitate PA among their children. PA often involved supervision, indicating the importance of adult community members to provide this supervision when fathers could not do so (Table 2). For this reason, social support codes often overlapped with community and parental roles. Social support was also necessary for engaging in PA, traveling to PA destinations (e.g., parks, soccer fields), providing PA resources, and promoting PA among children (Table 2).

Intrapersonal influences on PA

Obligation was coded when fathers expressed feelings or emotions about expectations or roles that forced them to put aside personal needs and interests. This often meant losing opportunities for rest and personal PA opportunities, as well as missing job opportunities (Table 2). Sense of obligation also intersected with gender norms, as participants felt that self-sacrifice was part of their responsibility as fathers:

I tell [my wife], like I, “You see it in my face when I get home from work to, I mean, irritated, tired, and at the same time I still have to take my responsibility as a father,” I tell her. “I still play and everything with, my children and everything. Why? Because it’s my responsibility as a father.

Strategies to overcome this sense of obligation to promote PA included reconceptualizing their obligation to spend time with their children to lighten their mood or make time for themselves (Table 2).

Fathers discussed their beliefs about PA, including its importance and health benefits. These beliefs were often shaped by their own experiences and health status, and included ideas on the relationship between PA, healthy eating, and weight status or health. Many fathers expressed beliefs that their children inherited their own proclivity for PA, sport, or their body shape, or were influenced by their physical inactivity.

Physical and mental health were often mentioned in relation to PA among fathers and children, and most participants believed PA was a key determinant of physical and mental well-being. Physical and mental health symptoms were also mentioned as barriers to maintaining PA or being active with their children (Table 2). Fathers promoted PA among their children even if they couldn’t participate in or use PA to improve their own health. When fathers mentioned their children having physical health constraints related to PA, they discussed helping their children overcome them through motivation or adaptations (Table 2).

Recall included past experiences that shaped the way fathers thought about PA and promoted PA among their children. Fathers mostly focused on policies or environmental features that they thought positively influenced PA or discussed negative health behaviors they needed to overcome in their own lives to become good role models to their children.

They used to have a program at school before, in {high school} where they would open the {gym} and they could go play basketball and on one hand it was good because when it rained, well, I remember that in, with, at school we wanted to go to the well, in fact, we always had a park,but when they opened the {gym},well we went… in {high school} I played basketball,I played soccer,(Laughs) everything. I started,I started in {weights} too but,man! I was really skinny.

Recalling past experiences helped fathers both develop strategies to promote PA and remember ways they previously overcame barriers to positive health behaviors (Table 2).

Resilience

Resilience describes strategies for overcoming barriers or taking advantage of PA opportunities. Fathers faced barriers to PA but developed creative solutions to facilitate PA within their families (Table 2):

I get home tired, right? But you rest for a little bit and in the nights, right? I made them a soccer goal, right? But one of those made of pipes and everything. I started to play with my children, soccer, there at home and I prepared everything for them. And it makes you happy because in, it wasn’t my kids anymore, but the colonia started bring the children and the children arrived. And my neighbors got excited and, and even the men would come to play with us, and with their kids.

Other examples of resiliency included:

• Installing lights on bikes or for the yard to facilitate PA after dark.

• Making time to go to parks or beaches further from home.

• Creating makeshift PA opportunities around the home.

• Facilitate indoor PA after dark, by creating indoor tracks or other PA opportunities.

• Building social connections in their community.

• Reserving weekend or morning time for engaging in PA with their children, when work hours are long.

• Develop strategies to help their children with special needs to participate in PA.

Meaning and experiences of PA

Participants in this study drew meaning from their own and their children’s participation in PA, and the meaning of PA acted as a reinforcement. Fathers valued PA as a tool for personal development and improved physical and mental health (Table 2). Fathers also described engaging in PA to develop physically and improve their health and strength, which was a motivator for their children to engage in regular PA (Table 2). Fathers most often valued PA as an opportunity to spend time with friends and family. They believed promoting PA was an essential part of their role as fathers, and most of their quality time spent with their family was doing PA (Table 2).

And he likes sports, he likes to hit the ball and he likes exercise. I mean, he started doing weights and this and that. I mean, he is a very active kid, he does like exercise a lot and like I said, the most, the exercise that he does the most, right? That doesn’t look like it but it is playing. Play with his friends, I mean, it’s the best exercise a kid can have. Because, well, he does it with joy and with energy and he is, he is exercising.