Stephanie Grace, a PhD student in the School of Kinesiology, is the first author of the paper “Exploring Associations Between Household Chaos and Child Health Behaviors in Rural Families,” which recently got accepted to the American Journal of Health Behavior. The paper will be published in vol. 26 (Feb issue no. 1, 2022). Daheia Barr-Anderson, PhD, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Behavioral Physical Activity Laboratory (BPAL), and Jayne Fulkerson, PhD, a professor in the School of Nursing, are co-authors.

The paper investigates the relationship between household chaos, which is characterized by noise, crowding, and disorganization, with child physical activity, sedentary behavior, and screen-time. A significant and positive association was found between household chaos and child screen-time. Yet more exploration is needed regarding household chaos and other child health behaviors, including child physical activity and sedentary behavior.