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Linking Socio-Behavioral Health and Accelerometer Wear Time in Caregiver-Preschooler Dyads: The Moderating Role of Coping Strategies.

Sisi Chen,Jiying Ling,Yingcen Xie,L. Robbins

Published 2025 in Mental Health and Physical Activity

ABSTRACT

Background and Aims Limited research has examined accelerometer compliance from a family systems perspective, and no prior work specifically investigates how preschoolers' social-behavioral functioning relates to ActiGraph wear time. This study aimed to 1) examine the association between preschoolers' socio-behavioral health and caregiver-preschooler dyads' ActiGraph wear time, and 2) explore whether caregiver coping moderated these relationships. Methods This secondary data analysis used cross-sectional data from 155 preschoolers (M age=46.87 months) and 141 caregivers (M age=31.57 years). Dyads wore an ActiGraph (wGT3X-BT) for seven days. Preschoolers' socio-behavioral health was assessed by the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales-Second Edition. Caregivers completed the Brief COPE to measure coping strategies. Linear mixed-effects models with restricted maximum likelihood estimation were conducted. Results Fewer preschooler problem behaviors were associated with greater accelerometer wear time among both preschoolers and caregivers. More preschoolers' internalizing problems were correlated with lower accelerometer wear time among both caregivers and preschoolers, especially when caregivers reported greater use of avoidant or emotion-focused coping and less problem-focused coping. In contrast, greater preschooler social skills were related to higher wear time for both caregivers and preschoolers, particularly when caregivers reported more avoidant or emotion-focused coping and fewer problem-focused coping strategies. Conclusions Findings underscore the importance of caregiver coping styles in behavioral data collection with young children. Tailored interventions that support caregivers in using more effective coping strategies may improve accelerometer protocol compliance. The results may also shed light on how caregiver coping can be targeted to promote healthy behaviors such as physical activity and sleep within families.

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