Facilitators of Physical Activity: Voices of Adolescents in a Disadvantaged Community

Abstract

Despite increasing socioeconomic inequalities in the health and well-being of adolescents, the voices of adolescents in disadvantaged communities regarding facilitators of physical activity (PA) have received relatively little attention. In response, the purpose of this study was to illuminate what adolescents in a multicultural community of low socioeconomic status (SES) in Sweden convey concerning facilitators of PA. Adolescents (n = 53, aged 12–13 years) were recruited from a school in a multicultural community of low SES in Sweden. Following an interpretive approach, 10 focus group interviews were conducted to produce data for a qualitative content analysis. When the adolescents mentioned PA, they mostly referred to spontaneous PA rather than organized PA, and expressed that they enjoyed their PA engagement, which they stated was promoted by the variation of PA, available options for PA, their physical skills, and the presence of peers. They reported that social support from family and friends facilitated their PA, and they offered several suggestions regarding how the school environment could better support their PA. From the perspective of self-determination theory (SDT), the results stress the importance of facilitating intrinsic motivation with a supportive PA environment in which adolescents can satisfy their needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Perspectives of adolescents, parents, and teachers on barriers and facilitators of physical activity among school-age adolescents: a qualitative analysis

“…These factors were also identified in previous studies [25–28, 31]. In literature, competition is often considered as a barrier to adolescents’ PA especially among girls and those lacking skills or physical conditions [25, 26, 28, 46]. In our study, competition was perceived as a facilitator for PA by some participants, which were almost exclusively boys.…”

“…Similar to previous studies, adolescents with physical disability [47] and/or with poor physical condition and skills [25, 27, 28, 31, 46] engage in less PA than their normal peers. In a systematic review, Carlon et al found that youth with cerebral palsy participated in 13 to 53% less PA than their peers and were more sedentary [47].…”

Efetividade De Programas De Intervenção Para Obesidade Com Base Em Orientações Para Escolares Adolescentes: Revisão Sistemática

“…The other studies that analyzed the effects of physical activity on adolescents reported effective results for the improvement of health conditions; 36 , 37 however, the need to determine the quality of physical education classes, stimulating the practice of pleasant and fun physical activities, without competitive or performance-based guidance, is brought about 38 . Healthy lifestyle habits, such as physical activity practice and quality food consumption are also encouraged through educational support, so that behavioral changes are sustainable and related to the construction of intrinsic motivation to maintain the desired behavior until adulthood 33 …”

Gamification of health education

“…However, further studies are needed to understand the consequences of appreciative inquiry as this strength-based focus may appear to be obvious, creating a risk of it being taken for granted. Additionally, we would like to echo Jonsson et al (2017) stressing the importance of an environment supporting physical activity in which schoolchildren can satisfy their needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Currently, the findings from this study are being implemented in a health-promoting intervention using children's active school transportation.…”