Sources and Types of Social Support for Physical Activity Perceived by Fifth to Eighth Grade Girls.
Lorraine B Robbins, Jiying Ling, Danielle M Dalimonte-Merckling and 3 others
PMID 29266689WHAT IT FOUND
Girls with three sources of support for activity moved more than those with fewer.
Mothers were the most common source overall, but support from fathers dropped as girls matured. Practical help like transport and doing activity together linked to more movement.
Key findings
01Girls who identified three sources of social support for physical activity engaged in more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day than those who identified one or two.
02Mothers were the most frequently cited source of support for physical activity across all pubertal stages, though reliance on mothers and fathers decreased as girls reached late-post puberty.
03Specific forms of support, such as someone taking the girl to exercise or exercising with her, were positively correlated with higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study only allowed girls to select a maximum of three sources of social support, potentially missing other influential people. Family composition was not assessed, so it is unclear if the absence of one parent influenced the selection of the other as a support source. The findings cannot be generalized to girls in private schools or areas with different socioeconomic profiles. This was a secondary analysis of baseline data, so it shows associations rather than proving that support causes increased activity.
Declared interests
Research support from N.I.H., Extramural and Non-U.S. Gov't. No other conflicts of interest declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that social support causes increased physical activity. This is a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data, so it shows that girls with more support were more active at the same time, not that adding support would make inactive girls active.