Tipos e fontes de apoio social e práticas de atividade física em adolescentes: uma análise longitudinal

Abstract

Social support (SA) for the practice of physical activity (PA) from different sources (father, mother and friends) can provide different types of SA (emotional, instrumental and informational), which have been associated with higher levels of practice in teenagers. However, studies have considered the parents' total AS score (parent and mother AS grouped), and the total PA time, by domains or their combinations. From this perspective, the aim of this study was to longitudinally analyze the relationship of the types of SA provided by different sources with groups of PA practices in adolescents in João Pessoa, Paraíba. This is an observational study, using data from 330 adolescents from the LONCAAFS (Longitudinal Study on Sedentary Behavior, Physical Activity, Eating Habits and Adolescent Health), carried out from 2014 to 2017, in public schools. A questionnaire was applied through face-to-face interviews to measure sociodemographic variables (gender, age, mother's education, economic class, class shift, SA, PA) and height and body mass measurements were taken to determine the index of body mass. The SA (score) was measured by a scale with 5 items for each source of AS (father, mother and friends), grouping them into emotional support (AE - encourage, watch and comment) and instrumental (AI - practice together and carry /invite). PA scores (minutes/week) were created, grouping them into sports (SP), physical exercise (PE), recreational activities (RA) and active commuting (AC). The Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) analysis was used to associate the types of SA provided by different sources with the PA groups, and to test the interaction of sex and age with the types of SA, interaction terms were created. All analyzes were performed using the Stata 16.0 software and the significance level adopted was p ≤ 0.05. The AE and AI were positively and significantly (p ≤ 0.05) associated with the practice of SP, PE and RA when provided by the father (AE: β = 5.37-15.28; AI: β = 6, 80-23.63) and friends (AE: β = 3.38-12.13; AI: β = 3.35-21.69), and provided by the mother, to all practices (AE: β = 3, 63-12.29; AI: β = 6.09-16.93). The AI had greater magnitude of association in all sources and practices of PA, except in the mother's support for RA. Adolescents who received AI from their father and friends had more time practicing SP and RA, and when received from their mother, SP and PE. It is concluded that in adolescents who receive higher levels of AE or AI from parents and friends, there was an increase in the time spent on PA practices, especially those performed at leisure.