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Environmental Factors Associated with Physical Activity and Screen Time Among Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

This study aimed to examine how environmental factors are associated with physical activity (PA) and screen-time (ST) among children with and without ASD (n = 1380 and 1411, respectively). For TD children, the absence of a bedroom television and neighborhood support were associated with PA. For children with ASD, no environmental factors were associated with PA. Regarding ST, the presence of a bedroom television, absence of limits on ST, lack of neighborhood amenities and support, and adverse neighborhood factors were all associated with ST among TD children. For children with ASD, the presence of a bedroom television and the absence of limits on ST were associated with ST. Potential explanations for this dichotomy and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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Funding

There is no funding to report for this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Behavioral Health and Nutrition, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19711, USA

    Seán Healy

  2. Department of Educational and Human Services, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

    Jeanette M. Garcia

  3. Department of Human Movement Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Justin A. Haegele

Authors
  1. Seán Healy
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  2. Jeanette M. Garcia
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  3. Justin A. Haegele
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seán Healy.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

It was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Healy, S., Garcia, J.M. & Haegele, J.A. Environmental Factors Associated with Physical Activity and Screen Time Among Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 1572–1579 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3818-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3818-0

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