Social Support for Exercise as a Predictor of Weight and Physical Activity Status Among Puerto Rican and Mexican Men: Results From the Latino Men’s Health Initiative

Abstract

Social support is an important factor in increasing positive health outcomes and positive health behaviors across a variety of disease states including obesity. However, research examining the relationship between social support for exercise and weight and physical activity status, particularly among Latino men, is lacking. This paper examined whether social support for exercise predicted weight and physical activity status and whether the direction of these relationships differ as a function of Hispanic/Latino background (Puerto Rican/Mexican). Participants were 203 men who participated in a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study addressing culture- and obesity-related variables. Both family participation social support and family rewards and punishment social support predicted higher weight status (p < .005 and p < .05, respectively). Friend participation social support did not predict weight status. The direction of the relationship between weight status and family participation social support, family rewards and punishment social support, and friend participation social support did not significantly differ as a function of Hispanic/Latino background. The direction of the relationship between physical activity status and family participation social support, family rewards and punishment social support, and friend participation social support did not significantly differ as a function of Hispanic/Latino background. Findings suggest that increased social support for exercise from family members may be focused on those who need it most—overweight and obese participants. Additional research is needed to explore sociocultural factors that may promote social support, physical activity, and weight loss and maintenance in Puerto Rican and Mexican men.

“Thumb Exercise”: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Psychosocial Factors Encouraging Inactive Adults to Engage with Their Smartphones Rather than Physical Activity

“…In accordance with previous research (Craven et al, 2018;Duncan & McAuley, 1993), inadequacy perceptions therefore may be a contributing factor as to why inactive individuals need social support from their peers in order to engage with physical activity. Theoretical understandings of this phenomenon lend to conceptualisations from the social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986).…”

Examining the Validity, Reliability, and Measurement Invariance of the Social Support for Exercise Scale Among Spanish- and English-Language Hispanics

“…This is the first known study to assess the validity and reliability of the Spanish-language version of the Social Support for Exercise Scale despite its common use in previous studies (Craven et al, 2018;Hartman et al, 2011;Keller et al, 2014;Marcus et al, 2016;B. Marquez et al, 2016;D.…”

“…The Spanish-language version has been used by researchers examining social support among Spanish-speaking samples (Craven, Keefer, Rademaker, Dykema-Engblade, & Sanchez-Johnsen, 2018;Hartman et al, 2011;Keller et al, 2014;Marcus et al, 2016;B. Marquez, Dunsiger, Pekmezi, Larsen, & Marcus, 2016;D.…”

Healthcare Needs of U.S. Rural Latinos

“…The same study noted that the stark differences in the role of acculturation in dietary intake, physical activity, smoking/alcohol consumption and obesity are largely the result of differences among Latino subgroups. In a study examining social support and exercise, it was found that research gaps remain to improve understanding of how healthcare outcomes and socioeconomic factors differ in Puerto Rican and Mexican Latino subgroups (Craven et al, 2018).…”