Using COM-B and The Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) to Examine the Nature of Intergenerational Physical Activity.

Regular Physical Activity (PA) is vital to physical and mental well-being, and maintaining positive health behaviours (Bell, 2019). In the UK, life expectancy has increased, currently being 87.3 years in males and 90.2 years in females (ONS, 2023). Coupled with increased in life expectancy is an increase in sedentary behaviour, despite the documented impacts and efforts from organisations to reverse this trajectory (Faghy et al, 2023). Health conditions are attributed to sedentary lifestyles, causing Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer. This is estimated to have an UK economic impact of £7.4 billion annually, with 1 in 6 deaths associated with sedentarism (GOV.UK, 2022). Plentiful prevention efforts often rely on interventions aiming to increase PA. Interventions have been implemented across a variety of settings and populations with varying success (Knittle et al, 2018). Interventions have also employed multicomponent designs, targeting several factors, for example, reducing screen time, healthy eating and increasing sleep quality (Russ et al, 2015).
Families are defined as “a group of one or more parents and their children living together as a unit” (Corbett, 2004). The traditional dynamic of families in the UK has evolved over time, with grandparents playing a more integral role. It is important to acknowledge this shift, being essential in the context of this thesis as the responsibility of grandparents has increased. In the context of lifespan PA, the intergenerational dyad of grandparent and grandchild being active together could be important as a dual agent of change. Interventions that target intergenerational dyads are sparse with little long-term behaviour change and few successful outcomes (Park, 2014). Intergenerational PA has yet to be reviewed holistically to increase the understanding and benefit of the relationship, providing recommendations for future research. This thesis set out to explore intergenerational PA and the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren.
A literature review synthesised the evidence and benefits of implementing intergenerational interventions. The data revealed few PA interventions have targeted intergenerational dyads, demonstrating little outcomes and sustainability of PA behaviours. Semi-structured interviews with grandparents exposed many potential benefits from undertaking a caring role which included being active together. Age and time were themes, shaping the activities undertaken. Themes of evolving roles divulged that grandparents take on a primary parental role when needed, impacting the dyad’s relationship.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, conducting a PA intervention was changed to a large-scale online questionnaire. The results indicate that PA levels of grandparents increase when the dyad is together. Grandparents reported being active more than a moderate amount of PA. Evaluating COM-B found that capability was a significant predictor of vigorous activity, suggesting participating in activities observed as being more vigorous, is driven by participants perceived psychological and physical capability. Motivation was a significant predictor of moderate activity, suggesting that maintaining a frequent level of PA, needed for good health, requires motivation.
In conclusion, grandparents play a vital role in facilitating the PA of their grandchildren, instilling foundations for positive PA behaviours. This facilitation has an impact on grandparents, giving purpose, and increasing their own PA levels. The role of the grandparent is as important as ever, requiring frequent investigation to further explore its complex dynamic.