Skip to main content
Home / American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume 30, Number 3

Social Support and Youth Physical Activity: The Role of Provider and Type

Buy Article:

$39.00 + tax (Refund Policy)

Objective: To examine provider and type variation in social support (SS) for activity. Methods: Three hundred sixty-three fifth to eighth-grade students completed a questionnaire assessing self-reported activity and social support (SS) from 3 providers: mom, dad, and peers. Important covariates of activity were included in the analysis: age, BMI, sex, and maturation. Results: Structural equation modeling indicated peers, transportation, and praise affected activity levels. Boys reported greater SS than girls did. Maturation, age, and BMI exhibited unique affects on SS. Conclusions: Increasing positive feedback, transportation to places to be active, and peer support may prove advantageous in improving activity levels in this age-group.

Keywords: Sports; VPA; children; family; parents; peers

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Department of Public Health, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 2: Clearwater Elementary School USD 264, Clearwater, KS 3: School of Nursing, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS 4: Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Professions, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS 5: Nutrition and Exercise Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR

Publication date: 01 May 2006

More about this publication?

  • The American Journal of Health Behavior seeks to improve the quality of life through multidisciplinary health efforts in fostering a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of both individuals and social systems as they relate to health behaviors.

    The Journal aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of personal attributes, personality characteristics, behavior patterns, social structure, and processes on health maintenance, health restoration, and health improvement; to disseminate knowledge of holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to designing and implementing effective health programs; and to showcase health behavior analysis skills that have been proven to affect health improvement and recovery.

  • Editorial Board
  • Information for Authors
  • Submit a Paper
  • Subscribe to this Title
  • Review Board
  • Reprints and Permissions
  • Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites

Share Content

  • Access Key
  • Free content
  • Partial Free content
  • New content
  • Open access content
  • Partial Open access content
  • Subscribed content
  • Partial Subscribed content
  • Free trial content