Residential mobility and adolescents’ physical activity: The mediating role of neighborhood social ties

Abstract

ABSTRACT Neighborhoods represent an important ecological system for adolescents’ physical activity. However, the current literature has generally overlooked the fact that families and adolescents may experience frequent residential moves and need to adapt to their new neighborhoods. Despite the high residential mobility (i.e. the frequency of residential moves) in the United States, there is a dearth of research on how residential mobility may affect American adolescents’ physical activity. Using Year 15 (wave#6) data from Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), this study examined the relationship between residential mobility and adolescents’ physical activity and investigated family’s neighborhood social ties as a potential mediator for the relationship, while controlling for socio-demographics related to adolescents, their primary caregivers, and households. Results of structural equation modeling showed that residential mobility was negatively associated with neighborhood social ties, which in turn, was positively associated with adolescent’s physical activity. The negative association between residential mobility and adolescent’s physical activity was fully mediated by neighborhood social ties. Finally, implications of this study are discussed.