Sexual Maturation, social support and physical activity in adolescents

Abstract

To analyze the moderating effect of maturation on the association between social support, received from parents and friends, on physical activity level in adolescents. Cross-sectional study conducted in 2014 with a representative sample of 855 adolescents (54% girls) enrolled in public school of São José dos Pinhais, Brazil. Adolescents reported weekly attendance who received different types of social support for physical activity, which was classified into three categories (“never," "sometimes," "always"). The social support score from each source was computed and classified in tertiles ("low", "intermediate", "high"). The moderate to vigorous leisure time physical activity was evaluated with a valid questionnaire and the score was classified as ≥300 min/wk. The maturation was self-assessed by pubic hairiness by photos and classified as "pubescent" and "post-pubescent". The associations were tested with Poisson regression in STATA 14. The fact that parents "sometimes" (PR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.42-4.44) or "always" (PR: 4.60; 95% CI: 2.10-10.10) to attend the activities was positively associated with the physical activity of pubertal adolescents. While positive reinforcement for the activities ("always" commenting) was positively associated with the outcome in post-pubertal adolescents (PR: 2.60; 95% CI: 1.01-6.71). The fact that friends "always" watch activities (PR: 2.39; 95% CI: 1.01-5.76), the score "intermediate" (PR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.28-3.58) and "high" (RP: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.11-3.28) were positively associated with the physical activity of pubertal adolescents. Maturation shows a moderating effect in the association between the social support and physical activity.