Socio-economic status and physical activity among adolescents: the mediating role of self-esteem.
OBJECTIVE
Physical activity is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle in adolescence. Previous studies have shown physical activity to be associated with socio-economic status and self-esteem; the latter association may mediate the former, but evidence on this is lacking. The aim of this study was to explore the associations of socio-economic status and the self-esteem of adolescents with physical activity, and their joint effects.


METHODS
A sample of 3694 elementary-school students from Slovakia (mean age 14.3 years, 49% boys) completed the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale and answered questions about the frequency of their physical activity and their parents' educational level.


RESULTS
Adolescents with higher socio-economic status were significantly more likely to report physical activity on ≥5 days/week and to report higher self-esteem. In logistic regression, the association between socio-economic status and physical activity decreased after including self-esteem, suggesting that at least a part of this association is mediated by self-esteem.


CONCLUSIONS
To conclude, youths from lower socio-economic groups have already been identified as a target group, for intervention. These findings suggest that it is important for promotion programmes to focus not only on the enhancement of their physical activity, but also on their self-esteem as a possible mediator.
Graduate School Kosice Institute for Society and Health, PJ Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic. zuzana.veselska@upjs.sk
Z
Z
Veselska
A
A
Madarasova Geckova
S A
SA
Reijneveld
J P
JP
van Dijk
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D018154:Slovakia; D012923:Social Class; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data