Purpose – Parents are important agents in the physical activity socializing process in children. The
present study aims to examine the parental mediatory role in children’s physical activity participation
via a youth physical activity promotion (YPAP) model.
Design/methodology/approach – A total of 872 Hong Kong Chinese children (aged ten to 13) in
ten schools were invited to participate in the study. Their physical self-perception, physical activity
perception, parental influence, and physical activity level were assessed. Structural equation
modelling was employed to examine the relationship among the variables.
Findings – The final model accounted for 18 per cent of the variance in children’s physical activity
participation. Parental influence imposed a direct (b ¼ 0:19) and indirect effect on children’s physical
activity participation through the children’s physical activity perception (b ¼ 0:33) and physical
self-perceptions (b ¼ 0:19).