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To what extent does self-reported physical activity impact children’s wellbeing and mental health? Insights from school-aged children in Wales

Michaela James Orcid Logo, Mary Adebayo, May Silveira Bianchim, Levi Hughes Orcid Logo, Marianne Mannello, Emily Marchant Orcid Logo, Sinead Brophy Orcid Logo

PLOS One, Volume: 20, Issue: 5, Start page: e0313970

Swansea University Authors: Michaela James Orcid Logo, May Silveira Bianchim, Levi Hughes Orcid Logo, Emily Marchant Orcid Logo, Sinead Brophy Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1371/journal.pone.0313970

Abstract

There has been emphasis on the wellbeing of school-aged children amongst research, policy and practice in recent years, particularly during key developmental stages such as early childhood and adolescence. This study aimed to identify specific factors of self-reported physical activity that are asso...

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Published in: PLOS One
ISSN: 1932-6203
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69507
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This study aimed to identify specific factors of self-reported physical activity that are associated with wellbeing and mental health among school-aged children in Wales. Using data from the Health and Attainment of Pupils in Primary Education in Wales (HAPPEN-Wales) cohort, this study analysed survey responses from 16,731 children aged 7&#x2013;11 collected between 2016 and 2022. The HAPPEN survey includes self-reported measures of physical activity, physical literacy, sedentary behaviour, wellbeing, mental health, and local community environment. Wellbeing and mental health were assessed using the Good Childhood Index and the Me and My Feelings Questionnaire. Physical literacy was captured through questions on motivation, confidence, competence, and understanding of physical activity benefits. Additional data on environmental factors and socioeconomic status were also considered. 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spelling 2025-06-12T15:38:35.1456503 v2 69507 2025-05-14 To what extent does self-reported physical activity impact children’s wellbeing and mental health? Insights from school-aged children in Wales 9a717d184fb8f768e462d95b91e63e23 0000-0001-7047-0049 Michaela James Michaela James true false 6cbc0de5f493128b9938a8cbc1d71a0f May Silveira Bianchim May Silveira Bianchim true false 1b1207d8f5bbd911df7b20636e630f31 0009-0007-0730-265X Levi Hughes Levi Hughes true false d68adb6744707b3bd75e07bd334d0516 0000-0002-9701-5991 Emily Marchant Emily Marchant true false 84f5661b35a729f55047f9e793d8798b 0000-0001-7417-2858 Sinead Brophy Sinead Brophy true false 2025-05-14 MEDS There has been emphasis on the wellbeing of school-aged children amongst research, policy and practice in recent years, particularly during key developmental stages such as early childhood and adolescence. This study aimed to identify specific factors of self-reported physical activity that are associated with wellbeing and mental health among school-aged children in Wales. Using data from the Health and Attainment of Pupils in Primary Education in Wales (HAPPEN-Wales) cohort, this study analysed survey responses from 16,731 children aged 7–11 collected between 2016 and 2022. The HAPPEN survey includes self-reported measures of physical activity, physical literacy, sedentary behaviour, wellbeing, mental health, and local community environment. Wellbeing and mental health were assessed using the Good Childhood Index and the Me and My Feelings Questionnaire. Physical literacy was captured through questions on motivation, confidence, competence, and understanding of physical activity benefits. Additional data on environmental factors and socioeconomic status were also considered. Multiple regression and decision tree analyses were used to examine factors associated with overall wellbeing. Key factors associated with good wellbeing included being more physically active (Coef.:0.17 [95%CI: 0.05 to 0.29]), being less sedentary (Coef.: −0.16 [95%CI: −0.28 to −0.05]), feeling confident to take part in lots of physical activity (Coef.: 0.35 [95%CI: 0.16 to 0.55]), feeling good at lots of physical activity (Coef.: 0.30 [95%CI:0.14 to 0.46], having less knowledge around understanding (Coef.: −0.29 [95%CI: −0.57 to −0.07]), feeling safe (Coef.: 0.77 [95%CI: 0.66 to 0.89]), autonomous (Coef.: 0.57 [95%CI: 0.40 to 0.73]) and competent (Coef.: 0.51 [95%CI: 0.35 to 0.67]). The findings highlight the importance of providing opportunities for children to develop their confidence, competency and to feel like they have a choice in their lives. This may be done by providing safe, engaging, and varied physical activity opportunities in schools and communities to support children’s overall wellbeing. Journal Article PLOS One 20 5 e0313970 Public Library of Science (PLoS) 1932-6203 22 5 2025 2025-05-22 10.1371/journal.pone.0313970 COLLEGE NANME Medical School COLLEGE CODE MEDS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) This study has been funded by the Centre for Population Health (CPH), ADR-Wales and Play Wales 2025-06-12T15:38:35.1456503 2025-05-14T12:08:29.3839392 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science Michaela James 0000-0001-7047-0049 1 Mary Adebayo 2 May Silveira Bianchim 3 Levi Hughes 0009-0007-0730-265X 4 Marianne Mannello 5 Emily Marchant 0000-0002-9701-5991 6 Sinead Brophy 0000-0001-7417-2858 7 69507__34378__6528f555d5d5462b9c47fc35b938c619.pdf 69507.VoR.pdf 2025-06-02T13:18:01.9874826 Output 650803 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 James et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title To what extent does self-reported physical activity impact children’s wellbeing and mental health? Insights from school-aged children in Wales
spellingShingle To what extent does self-reported physical activity impact children’s wellbeing and mental health? Insights from school-aged children in Wales
Michaela James
May Silveira Bianchim
Levi Hughes
Emily Marchant
Sinead Brophy
title_short To what extent does self-reported physical activity impact children’s wellbeing and mental health? Insights from school-aged children in Wales
title_full To what extent does self-reported physical activity impact children’s wellbeing and mental health? Insights from school-aged children in Wales
title_fullStr To what extent does self-reported physical activity impact children’s wellbeing and mental health? Insights from school-aged children in Wales
title_full_unstemmed To what extent does self-reported physical activity impact children’s wellbeing and mental health? Insights from school-aged children in Wales
title_sort To what extent does self-reported physical activity impact children’s wellbeing and mental health? Insights from school-aged children in Wales
author_id_str_mv 9a717d184fb8f768e462d95b91e63e23
6cbc0de5f493128b9938a8cbc1d71a0f
1b1207d8f5bbd911df7b20636e630f31
d68adb6744707b3bd75e07bd334d0516
84f5661b35a729f55047f9e793d8798b
author_id_fullname_str_mv 9a717d184fb8f768e462d95b91e63e23_***_Michaela James
6cbc0de5f493128b9938a8cbc1d71a0f_***_May Silveira Bianchim
1b1207d8f5bbd911df7b20636e630f31_***_Levi Hughes
d68adb6744707b3bd75e07bd334d0516_***_Emily Marchant
84f5661b35a729f55047f9e793d8798b_***_Sinead Brophy
author Michaela James
May Silveira Bianchim
Levi Hughes
Emily Marchant
Sinead Brophy
author2 Michaela James
Mary Adebayo
May Silveira Bianchim
Levi Hughes
Marianne Mannello
Emily Marchant
Sinead Brophy
format Journal article
container_title PLOS One
container_volume 20
container_issue 5
container_start_page e0313970
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 1932-6203
doi_str_mv 10.1371/journal.pone.0313970
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science
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description There has been emphasis on the wellbeing of school-aged children amongst research, policy and practice in recent years, particularly during key developmental stages such as early childhood and adolescence. This study aimed to identify specific factors of self-reported physical activity that are associated with wellbeing and mental health among school-aged children in Wales. Using data from the Health and Attainment of Pupils in Primary Education in Wales (HAPPEN-Wales) cohort, this study analysed survey responses from 16,731 children aged 7–11 collected between 2016 and 2022. The HAPPEN survey includes self-reported measures of physical activity, physical literacy, sedentary behaviour, wellbeing, mental health, and local community environment. Wellbeing and mental health were assessed using the Good Childhood Index and the Me and My Feelings Questionnaire. Physical literacy was captured through questions on motivation, confidence, competence, and understanding of physical activity benefits. Additional data on environmental factors and socioeconomic status were also considered. Multiple regression and decision tree analyses were used to examine factors associated with overall wellbeing. Key factors associated with good wellbeing included being more physically active (Coef.:0.17 [95%CI: 0.05 to 0.29]), being less sedentary (Coef.: −0.16 [95%CI: −0.28 to −0.05]), feeling confident to take part in lots of physical activity (Coef.: 0.35 [95%CI: 0.16 to 0.55]), feeling good at lots of physical activity (Coef.: 0.30 [95%CI:0.14 to 0.46], having less knowledge around understanding (Coef.: −0.29 [95%CI: −0.57 to −0.07]), feeling safe (Coef.: 0.77 [95%CI: 0.66 to 0.89]), autonomous (Coef.: 0.57 [95%CI: 0.40 to 0.73]) and competent (Coef.: 0.51 [95%CI: 0.35 to 0.67]). The findings highlight the importance of providing opportunities for children to develop their confidence, competency and to feel like they have a choice in their lives. This may be done by providing safe, engaging, and varied physical activity opportunities in schools and communities to support children’s overall wellbeing.
published_date 2025-05-22T05:24:51Z
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