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Table 3 Quotes from participants used to support themes and subthemes

From: Perspectives of adolescents, parents, and teachers on barriers and facilitators of physical activity among school-age adolescents: a qualitative analysis

Themes and Subthemes

Quotes

Adolescents

Parents

Teachers (T)

Theme 1: Perceived motivating and limiting factors

 Subtheme 1: Enjoyment and competition

- G11: “This sport pleases me a lot, there … I meet my friends and so I come out of the daily routine: from home to school and vice versa”

- M1: “He plays football with his friends, he wants to go out to entertain himself, ...”

- T1: “I see that during adolescence, boys prefer physical activities of their competitive nature”

 Subtheme 2: Perceived physical and financial benefits

- B4: “I am exercising because sport is good for health and, … also to keep a good heart rate. Sometimes we play to earn some money”.

- F4: “they are obsessed with keeping a particular silhouette and body image especially among girls”

- T10: “Their only objective is to expose their bodies and fitness to show off in front of their friends”

 Subtheme 3: Physical, psychological, and behavioral factors influencing PA

- G14: “It’s normal, ... it’s not my hobby, sport does not matter to me”

B8: “..., there is laziness in first position …, there are some who have health problems like a physical disability, so they cannot practice PA”

- F16: “..., another reason is that there are some children who do not have certain skills to practice a given sport, ... for example, if he does not know how to play football, he will prefer not to play it to avoid embarrassment in front of his peers”

- T13: “Sometimes their physical ability pushes them to practice sport and sometimes their disability can prevent them”

Theme 2: PA awareness

 

- G7: “..., and I know it is beneficial for health”

Moderator: “To be healthy, do you know how much of daily physical activity (duration) you must have?”

- B15: “three hours per day”

- B16: “Fifteen minutes per day”

- F2: “These adolescents who are active, you find them aware of the importance of PA for health”

- T9: “students who have less PA, the cause is that they are unaware of its importance”

- T2: “Active children …, it is certain that they are aware of the importance of physical activity”

Theme 3: Perceived time constraints

 Subtheme 1: Loaded curriculum

- B27: “My free time, I dedicate it entirely to homework …, I do not do sport at all”

- F21: “The first thing is that there are some adolescents who say that sport is not essential compared to academic success, they do not see any importance for PA to achieve a good future”

- T2: “the matter is that the loaded curriculum does not give students an opportunity to do PA”

 Subtheme 2: Time mismanagement and competing leisure sedentary activities

- G28: “…, The mismanagement of time because of many things ..., and ..., the misuse of the smartphone remains the main factor”

- F14: “Most of them are just sitting watching TV or surfing the internet”

- F15: “They go out with friends to entertain themselves without practicing any PA”

 

Theme 4: Social support

 Subtheme 1: Familial and friends influences

- G25: “There are numerous factors that motivate me to play sports ... there is encouragement of my parents especially that my father is an ex-sportsman, he has already participated in the marathon”

- G15: “some parents do not enroll their children in sports clubs”

- G4: “... and I do not have anyone with whom I can play”

- F6: “Encouragement from parents since childhood ..., for my children, I make sure that they do sports 3 to 4 times a week”

- T12: “Friends have a role in this …, for example when someone is enrolled in a sports club, he may encourage his friends to do the same”

 Subtheme 2: Positive influences from others

- B6: “…, me, I hope someday that I will become like famous players of football like Ronaldo, I am a big fan of real club”

- F21: “There is also the influence of role models ..., for example, Messi or Ronaldo or others ...”

 

Theme 5: Gender and cultural norms

 Subtheme 1: Gender differences

- G6: “I like to play sports, but my father does not allow me”

- G21: “This because many people are not aware of gender equality …, people who believe in gender equality are a minority …”

- G11: “My parents told me why you go there, that sport is for boys only, ...”

- F2: “Physical activity for girls is a problem …, they cannot play with boys, ... they will be intimidated by boys. There are no spaces reserved for girls ... I speak about spaces that are respectful, secure, no harassment, ...”

- T3: “In society, Customs and traditions do not accept that girls do sport”

- T7: “Girls …, they are less active because they cannot play on the street like boys ..., girls are less interested in physical activity”

 Subtheme 2: Cultural norms

- G21: “…, for example, girls should not do Gymnastic …, why? ... high jump too, why? ... normally there must be equality between girls and boys”

- F6: “Education based on religion and morality plays a role in this as it gives great importance to the preservation of body and health”

- T11: “The philosophy of sport that exists in developing countries, especially in the Arab countries is that people are encouraged to watch sports and not to practice it …, look for example at the great number of people who watch big matches but no one plays any kind of sports, they are all weak …, sport should be practiced and not watched”

Theme 6: Access to opportunities

 Subtheme 1: School physical Education classes

- G28: “Physical education classes are insufficient and sometimes they are scheduled between other school subjects”

- F16: “The problem is that even school environment is not encouraging and …, it does not allow adolescents to catch up the lack of PA they have outside school …, We teach physical activity but we do not encourage its practice”

- T12: “…, in PE classes, where there are no dressing rooms, girls are obliged to change clothes under the eyes of boys. So, girls are embarrassed as they can be seen by boys and therefore some of them apply for a certificate of exemption from PE classes”

 Subtheme 2: Outside school opportunities

- G2: “I like basketball, but I cannot find where to play it except in PE classes sometimes”

- F12: “There is a lack of sports spaces that are equipped and secured against any harassment”

- M1: “firstly, there is a lack of sports facilities. Something else ... the economic situation of some families does not allow them to enroll their children in suitable sports clubs”

- T13: “In our city, there is a lack of spaces to do sport …, if they exist, they are either expensive or they are not clean ..., for example there are gyms in cellars of buildings that have very poor ventilation …, it’s stinky”

- T13: “…, But sports facilities do not exist and if they exist they are poorly supervised ..., so children are not encouraged to go there”

  1. G girl, B boy, F father, M mother