Physical Activity and Psychosocial Characteristics of the Peer Supporters in the PLAN-A Study-A Latent Class Analysis.

Ruth Salway,Emily Sanderson,Rebecca Kandiyali,Russell Jago,Byron Tibbitts,Stephanie J Macneill,Simon J Sebire,Kate Willis

doi:10.3390/ijerph17217980

Ruth Salway, Emily Sanderson + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217980

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Abstract

PLAN-A is a cluster randomised controlled trial of a peer-led physical activity intervention which uses peer supporters to increase the physical activity of 13–14-year-old girls in the UK. This paper uses latent class analysis to identify classes in the whole study population and investigate how those selected as peer supporters in PLAN-A were drawn from different social groups. We identified five classes of girls, based on psychosocial variables (self-esteem, physical activity self-efficacy, motivation, physical activity values among friends and peer support for physical activity (PA) and physical activity behaviour variables (average minutes of weekday MVPA, sedentary time and screen viewing). Peer supporters were similar to the whole study population in terms of overall demographics, but were drawn unequally from the five classes. In addition, there was considerable variation in the distribution of peer supporters between schools. The selection of peer supporters is an integral component of peer-led interventions and should be explored and linked to underlying theory to understand the characteristics of those recruited. However, demographic representativeness is not necessarily the aim, and simple reporting of overall demographic comparisons may mask important differences within subgroups.

Highlights

Physical activity is associated with lower levels of cardiometabolic risk factors and higher psychological well-being among children and adolescents [1,2,3,4,5]
Missing data for the variables used in the latent class analysis was low (Table S1), with 0–4% of psychosocial variables and 8% of physical activity measures missing for both peer supporters and the sample as a whole
Our latent class analysis provides a more detailed exploration of the characteristics of peer supporters and a deeper understanding of how they differ from their peers than that given by simple overall comparisons, which may miss potentially important differences

Summary

Introduction

Physical activity is associated with lower levels of cardiometabolic risk factors and higher psychological well-being among children and adolescents [1,2,3,4,5]. The UK Chief Medical Officers recommend that all children and young people should engage in an average of at least 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) per day across a week [6]. Physical activity levels decline with age and girls are less active than boys throughout childhood and adolescence [7,9]. Physical activity patterns track from adolescence into adulthood [10,11]. There is a need to find ways to increase levels of physical activity amongst adolescent girls

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Discussion

Conclusion