Patterns of time use among regional and rural adolescent girls: Associations with correlates of physical activity and health-related quality of life

Quality of life and life satisfaction among university students: Exploring, subjective norms, general health, optimism, and attitude as potential mediators

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to examine the association of quality of life (QOL) with life satisfaction, subjective norms, general health, optimism, and attitude among university students.

PARTICIPANTS

Respondents include 632 university students (M_age=21.36, SD = 2.86).

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on university students in Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran. Several statistical models were tested, including hierarchical regression and path analysis, to examine the direct or indirect association between a set of important variables.

RESULTS

According to the results of path analysis, constructs of subjective norms, general health, positive attitude, optimism, and life satisfaction were significant predictors of students' QOL. Compared with other constructs, general health status (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.548) and life satisfaction (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.253) showed the strongest association with QOL.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that efforts to improve life satisfaction by targeting general health, subjective norms, optimism, and attitudes may provide promising ways to improve QOL.

Lean in? The role of single sex schools in the gendering of confidence in high school adolescents

Structural inequalities and stereotypes are held out as explanations for gender differences in reported levels of confidence. However, while it is reported that in the absence of stereotypes women and men should possess identical levels of self-confidence, no study to date has tested this hypothesis. Single sex schools were identified as an environment where structural bias might be mitigated. From a survey of 9,414 Australian adolescents aged 13–17 years attending single sex high schools, no significant difference in overall self-efficacy was identified between genders. Overall, by age cohort there was no significant difference between boys’ and girls’ self-efficacy, with a minor exception of the 15 years cohort. Self-efficacy levels were linked to participation in team sport and undertaking leadership roles. The study provides the first large scale study that demonstrates that women are no less confident than men under conditions where gendered structures are mitigated by their environment.

Psychological impacts of "screen time" and "green time" for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review

Technological developments in recent decades have increased young people's engagement with screen-based technologies (screen time), and a reduction in young people's contact with nature (green time) has been observed concurrently. This combination of high screen time and low green time may affect mental health and well-being. The aim of this systematic scoping review was to collate evidence assessing associations between screen time, green time, and psychological outcomes (including mental health, cognitive functioning, and academic achievement) for young children (<5 years), schoolchildren (5-11 years), early adolescents (12-14 years), and older adolescents (15-18 years). Original quantitative studies were identified in four databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, Scopus, Embase), resulting in 186 eligible studies. A third of included studies were undertaken in Europe and almost as many in the United States. The majority of studies were cross-sectional (62%). In general, high levels of screen time appeared to be associated with unfavourable psychological outcomes while green time appeared to be associated with favourable psychological outcomes. The ways screen time and green time were conceptualised and measured were highly heterogeneous, limiting the ability to synthesise the literature. The preponderance of cross-sectional studies with broadly similar findings, despite heterogeneous exposure measures, suggested results were not artefacts. However, additional high-quality longitudinal studies and randomised controlled trials are needed to make a compelling case for causal relationships. Different developmental stages appeared to shape which exposures and outcomes were salient. Young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds may be disproportionately affected by high screen time and low green time. Future research should distinguish between passive and interactive screen activities, and incidental versus purposive exposure to nature. Few studies considered screen time and green time together, and possible reciprocal psychological effects. However, there is preliminary evidence that green time could buffer consequences of high screen time, therefore nature may be an under-utilised public health resource for youth psychological well-being in a high-tech era.

Ecological correlates of activity-related behavior typologies among adolescents

Background

Adolescents engage in various combinations (typologies) of physical activity and sedentary behaviors, which impact their health and wellbeing in different ways. As such, there is a need to understand the factors that may inhibit or facilitate engagement in combinations of activity-related behaviors to help inform effective intervention strategies targeting those most in need. The aim of this study was to identify ecological correlates of adolescent physical activity and sedentary behavior typologies.

Methods

Cross-sectional study of 473 adolescents (15.0 ± 1.6 years, 41.4% boys) from 18 secondary schools in Melbourne, Australia. Intrapersonal, interpersonal and neighborhood-physical environmental factors were assessed via self-report surveys and Geographic Information Systems. Multinomial logistic regression models determined the relative risk ratio of membership of three homogenous activity-related behavior typologies based on the potential correlates.

Results

Higher levels of self-efficacy for physical activity, parental screen-time restriction rules, parental support for physical activity, sibling screen-time co-participation and perceptions of neighborhood pedestrian/traffic safety were associated with greater likelihood of adolescents being in the typology defined as highly active and low sedentary compared to the physically inactive, highly sedentary typology. Higher frequency of co-participation in screen-time with friends was associated with greater likelihood of adolescents being in the typology defined as moderately active, high screen-time compared to physically inactive, highly sedentary.

Conclusions

A range of intrapersonal, interpersonal and environmental correlates appear to play a role in adolescent activity-related typology membership. The findings may inform public health interventions targeting unique adolescent subgroups most at risk of poor health outcomes based on their engagement in combinations of activity-related behaviors.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7386-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Factors associated with social casino gaming among adolescents across game types

Background

With the proliferation of social casino games (SCGs) online, which offer the opportunity to gamble without monetary gains and losses, comes a growing concern regarding the effects of these unregulated games on public health, particularly among adolescents. However, given the limited research pertaining to SCG use, little is currently known about the manner in which adolescents engage with this new gambling medium. The present study aims to identify the factors that characterize adolescent social casino gamers, and to determine whether these factors differ by SCG type. Moreover, the study examines the extent to which social casino gaming is associated with monetary gambling and problem gambling in this cohort.

Method

Data were obtained from students in Grades 9 to 12 (n = 10,035) residing in the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Participants completed the Youth Gambling Survey (YGS), which is a supplementary instrument administered alongside the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS). Logistic regression was used to assess the factors associated with SCG play.

Results

Overall, 12.4% of respondents reported having participated in SCGs in the past three months. Compared to adolescents who did not report playing SCGs, SCG players were typically more likely to participate in monetary gambling activities, and were more prevalently classified as problem gamblers of low-to-moderate severity or high severity. Although profiles of SCG players differed across SCG game types, factors significantly associated with the playing of SCGs were gender, weekly spending money, having friends and parents who gamble, and screen time. It was also shown that current smokers were significantly more likely to participate in simulated slots online relative to adolescents who did not play SCGs.

Conclusion

Significant associations exist between SCG play, monetary gambling, and problem gambling among adolescents. Gambling intervention efforts directed at this population should aim to identify personal and environmental factors associated with social casino gaming, and should be tailored to different types of SCGs.

Typologies of adolescent activity related health behaviours

OBJECTIVES

To identify typologies of activity-related behaviours and demographic characteristics of these typologies among Australian adolescents.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study of 473 Secondary School students (41.4% boys, mean age 14.95±1.61 years) conducted in 2014-15.

METHODS

Active travel to school, sport participation, leisure-time sedentary and demographic variables were self-reported in a survey. Duration of sedentary time and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (mins/day) were accelerometer-derived. Latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted to identify typologies of activity-related health behaviours. One-way ANOVAs and chi-square tests were used to explore differences by demographic characteristics.

RESULTS

Three typologies were identified: (1) "Physically inactive, highly sedentary" (44%); (2) "Moderately active, high screen-time" (42%); and (3) "Highly active, low sedentary" (14%). Differences between typologies were evident for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), cultural identity, employment status and socioeconomic position (SEP). Those in typology 3 (optimal behaviour pattern) tended to be younger, of higher SEP and lower BMI.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that older adolescents have less active, more sedentary profiles than younger adolescents. The findings support the need for targeted interventions to improve adolescent activity-related behaviour engagement.

Effects of Adolescent Sport Practice on Health Outcomes of Adult Amateur Endurance Cyclists: Adulthood Is Not Too Late to Start

Background: We investigated the effects of adolescent sport practice on the training, performance, and health outcomes of adult amateur endurance cyclists and compared health outcomes of 3 adult groups: amateur endurance cyclists who practiced sports during adolescence, amateur endurance cyclists who did not practice sports during adolescence, and inactive individuals. Methods: In 859 (751 men and 108 women) adult cyclists and 718 inactive subjects (307 men and 411 women), we examined adolescent sport practice, current training status, quality of life, quality of sleep, anxiety and depression, and cardiometabolic risk: body mass index, physical activity, physical fitness, adherence to Mediterranean diet, and alcohol and tobacco consumption. Results: Independent of gender, no significant differences in training, performance, or health outcomes were observed between amateur endurance cyclists who practiced sports during adolescence and those who did not. Independent of gender, cyclists reported significantly better health outcomes than inactive individuals in all variables, except depression. Conclusions: Training, performance, and health outcomes did not differ between adult amateur endurance cyclists who practiced sports during adolescence and those who did not, but their health outcomes were significantly improved compared with inactive individuals, except for depression.

Health-Related Quality of Life and Lifestyle Behavior Clusters in School-Aged Children from 12 Countries

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the relationship between children's lifestyles and health-related quality of life and to explore whether this relationship varies among children from different world regions.

STUDY DESIGN

This study used cross-sectional data from the International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment. Children (9-11 years) were recruited from sites in 12 nations (n = 5759). Clustering input variables were 24-hour accelerometry and self-reported diet and screen time. Health-related quality of life was self-reported with KIDSCREEN-10. Cluster analyses (using compositional analysis techniques) were performed on a site-wise basis. Lifestyle behavior cluster characteristics were compared between sites. The relationship between cluster membership and health-related quality of life was assessed with the use of linear models.

RESULTS

Lifestyle behavior clusters were similar across the 12 sites, with clusters commonly characterized by (1) high physical activity (actives); (2) high sedentary behavior (sitters); (3) high screen time/unhealthy eating pattern (junk-food screenies); and (4) low screen time/healthy eating pattern and moderate physical activity/sedentary behavior (all-rounders). Health-related quality of life was greatest in the all-rounders cluster.

CONCLUSIONS

Children from different world regions clustered into groups of similar lifestyle behaviors. Cluster membership was related to differing health-related quality of life, with children from the all-rounders cluster consistently reporting greatest health-related quality of life at sites around the world. Findings support the importance of a healthy combination of lifestyle behaviors in childhood: low screen time, healthy eating pattern, and balanced daily activity behaviors (physical activity and sedentary behavior).

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01722500.