title: The association of objectively determined physical activity behavior among adolescent female friends.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which physical activity among adolescent female friends is interdependent. The participants were 318 adolescent girls with a mean age of 16.0 years (range: 15-18 years). Pedometry was used to assess physical activity over 4 days. The relationship between an individual girl and her first-nominated reciprocal friend's physical activity level was moderate (r = 0.45, 90% confidence interval = 0.31, 0.56), when the friendship was nonreciprocal it was trivial (r = -.06, 90% confidence interval = -.36 .25). Friends'physical activity levels explained between 27% and 32% of an individual's pedometer-determined physical activity level. Reciprocity of friendship is an important variable to consider when understanding the relationship between adolescent female friends' physical activity. When friendships are reciprocal, there is a stronger relationship between friends' physical activity.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research at AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schofield
authors.forename: W Kerry
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Mummery
authors.forename: Grant
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schofield
authors.forename: Will
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hopkins
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006801:Humans; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation; D009042:Motivation; D011793:Queensland