effects of playground availability on participation of children in physical activity: the role of socioeconomic status

Background: a possible influential factor in participation of physical activity can be playground availability. the current studyaimed to assess the effects of playground availability on participation of children in physical activity, considering parentalsocioeconomic status as a mediator.method: this study employed a cross-sectional method based on structural equation modelling. we recruited 384 children (145girls, mean age of 11.92±1.72 years) from primary schools in tehran, iran in 2021. they completed the questionnaires relatedto playground availability, physical activity, and parental socioeconomic status. for data analysis, we used structural equationmodelling.results: generally, the physical activity of our sample was low (2.24±1.35). both playground availability (t=9.129) andparental socioeconomic status (t=6.564) had significant effects on children participation in physical activity. moreover, parentalsocioeconomic status has not significantly mediated the association between playground availability and children participationin physical activity (β=0.221, p=0.684).conclusions: these findings indicated that playground availability and socioeconomic status of parents affect childrenparticipation in physical activity; however, these factors do not necessarily work together to strengthen children participation inphysical activity.