Associations between adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines and socio-emotional competence among preschool children: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background

This study investigated the association between adherence to 24-h movement guidelines and socioemotional competence among Chinese preschool children.

Methods

A total of 1288 parents of Chinese preschoolers (54.64 % boys, 45.36 % girls; M_age = 4.48, SD = 0.97) reported the time their children spent on physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), and sleep duration (SD), and completed questionnaires measuring socioemotional competence. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to explore the associations between individual and combined measures of PA, ST, and SD, and the risk of low socioemotional competence.

Results

The risk of low socioemotional competence was significantly lower for children aged 4 (odds ratio [OR] = 0.47, 95 % CI: 0.31–0.71), 5 (OR = 0.23, 95 % CI: 0.15–0.35), and 6 (OR = 0.16, 95 % CI: 0.10–0.25) compared to 3-year-olds. Children with a family income level higher than 20,000CNY had a significantly lower risk of low socioemotional competence than those with a family income level not higher than 3000CNY (OR = 0.21, 95 % CI: 0.08–0.59). Urban residency was associated with significantly lower odds of low socioemotional competence than rural residency (OR = 0.41, 95 % CI: 0.21–0.82). Adherence to the PA-only guidelines (OR = 0.45, 95 % CI: 0.22–0.94), SD-only guidelines (OR = 0.25, 95 % CI: 0.08–0.72), ST + SD guidelines (OR = 0.33, 95 % CI: 0.16–0.67), and PA + ST + SD guidelines (OR = 0.36, 95 % CI: 0.18–0.70) were associated with a lower risk of low socioemotional competence. In addition, among boys, only adherence to the PA + ST + SD guidelines (OR = 0.36, 95 % CI: 0.14–0.90) was associated with a lower risk of low socioemotional competence. Among girls, adherence to SD guidelines only (OR = 0.22, 95 % CI: 0.04–0.90), ST + SD guidelines (OR = 0.17, 95 % CI: 0.06–0.49), and PA + ST + SD guidelines (OR = 0.37, 95 % CI: 0.14–0.91) were all associated with a lower risk of low socioemotional competence.

Conclusions

Adhering to 24-h movement guidelines is crucial for enhancing socioemotional competence in preschool children, especially girls. Interventions should focus on promoting physical activity, reducing screen time, and ensuring adequate sleep.