The Role of the Perceived Neighborhood Social Environment on Adolescent Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity: Findings from Add Health

This study aimed to examine the associations of the perceived neighborhood social environment with (SB) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Data from 6504 adolescents (aged 15.4  ± 0.03 years) who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health was used. SB and PA were considered continuously and dichotomously. PNSE variables include safety, social cohesion, and contentedness, where higher values of PNSE indicate a more favorable neighborhood perce ption. Weighted linear and logistic regression models were used to examine the association of PNSE with continuous total SB (hours/week) and MVPA (bouts/week), and binary excessive SB (14 h/week) and meeting MVPA guidelines (≥ 5 bouts/week), respectively. Associations were stratified by gender and race to test moderation effects. Models were adjusted for demographic, health, parental, and neighborhood covariates. This study found that neighborhood safety and contentedness were negatively associated with SB, whereas neighborhood social cohesion and contentedness were positively associated with PA. Gender-specific and race-specific results remained somewhat consistent with overall findings; however, neighborhood safety was not associated with SB among female and non-White adolescents, respectively. Similarly, neighborhood safety and contentedness were not associated with MVPA for non- White adolescents. Findings suggest that an adolescent’s neighborhood environment, gender, and race sho...
Source: Journal of Community Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research