Abstract
This study aimed to examine the impact of individual (level of vigorous physical activity (VPA) and frequency of using sports and recreation facilities), interpersonal (perceived social cohesion (PSC)), and neighborhood environmental (availability of sports and recreation facilities) factors on youths’ health in transition in Hong Kong. A sample of 508 individuals aged 17–23 years from all Hong Kong council districts randomly completed validated questionnaires by telephone survey. Of 508,302 individuals with complete data pertaining to address geocoding were selected for further analyses. Overall, more than half of them (56.3%) used sports and recreation facilities once per month or less. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship among the studies’ constructs. The results indicated that the proposed model sufficiently fitted the data (χ2 (24) = 32.23, p < 0.12; CFI = 0.977; SRMR = 0.051; RMSEA = 0.034 (90% CI = 0.000 to 0.061). However, two items of PSC were sequentially removed due to their low standardized factor loadings (<0.3). A structural model was reinserted into data analyses, and the modified model fitted the data well as indicated by fit indices (χ2 (11) = 15.29, p < 0.17; CFI = 0.987; SRMR = 0.054; RMSEA = 0.036 (90% CI = 0.000 to 0.075). Only VPA (β = 0.27, p = 0.0005) and PSC (β = 0.12, p = 0.048) were significantly related to perceived health at an individual level. To promote youth health, the Hong Kong government may work with the business sector, community groups, or education institutions to develop community programs to keep youths active (especially VPA) and to build more cohesive, trustful relationships among youths in the neighborhood.
Highlights
The key stages that individuals go through in their lives have a particular relevance on health levels.The life course approach acknowledges the importance of the effect of physical and social exposures as well as physical and psychological changes in the transition from adolescence to adulthood [1].These changes include increasing emotional and behavioral autonomy [2] and taking responsibility for his or her own decisions, including exercise habits and types and quantity of meals to consume [3].In addition, during this transition students may transit from secondary school to university; as a part of this process they leave home, make new friends, and develop a new lifestyle [2]
We examined the effect of predictors (individual factors, interpersonal factor, and neighborhood environmental factors) on the health of youths in transition in Hong Kong
We found that only vigorous PA and perceived social cohesion were positively associated with health
Summary
The key stages that individuals go through in their lives have a particular relevance on health levels.The life course approach acknowledges the importance of the effect of physical and social exposures as well as physical and psychological changes in the transition from adolescence to adulthood [1].These changes include increasing emotional and behavioral autonomy [2] and taking responsibility for his or her own decisions, including exercise habits and types and quantity of meals to consume [3].In addition, during this transition students may transit from secondary school to university; as a part of this process they leave home, make new friends, and develop a new lifestyle [2]. The life course approach acknowledges the importance of the effect of physical and social exposures as well as physical and psychological changes in the transition from adolescence to adulthood [1] These changes include increasing emotional and behavioral autonomy [2] and taking responsibility for his or her own decisions, including exercise habits and types and quantity of meals to consume [3]. Transitioning from adolescence to adulthood involves individuals themselves, their families, as well as pertinent health community services [4]. This life course approach has been used to study chronic disease epidemiology [5] and health [1]
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