Correlates of Physical Activity of Children and Adolescents with Visual Impairments: A Systematic Review

Background and Objective: The benefits of physical activity (PA) for children and adolescents with disabilities are well documented, and children and adolescents with visual impairments (VI) engage in less PA than their sighted peers. Two reviews have summarized studies on PA of children and adolescents with VI, but no systematic review with semi-quantitative assessment has been conducted to specifically identify the correlates of their PA. This review aims to systematically summarize the existing literature, which investigated the correlates of PA of children and adolescents with VI until 2019 and identify variables that contribute to their PA participation. Methods: A systematic search using Academic Search Premier (ASP), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Education Source (ES), PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection (PBSC), MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science (WOS) was conducted in September 2019 to identify studies examining the correlates of PA in children and adolescents with VI aged 5 to 17 years. Two researchers independently screened studies, assessed their methodological quality and extracted relevant data. The correlates of PA among children and adolescents with VI were synthesized and further assessed semi-quantitatively. Results: A total of 17 articles identified correlates of PA in children and adolescents with VI. Out of 21 variables identified from the reviewed studies, 3 were consistently associated with PA of children and adolescents with VI. Body mass index (BMI)/obesity, percent of body fat, and visual impairment level were consistently and negatively associated with PA of children and adolescents with VI. Gender and age were identified as having inconsistent relationships with PA in children and adolescents with VI. The level of parental education was identified to have “no association” with children and adolescents with VI. Conclusion: This review can aid in developing effective interventions to improve the PA of children and adolescents with VI and propose directions for future research.