title: Effects of a culturally tailored physical activity promotion program on selected self-regulation skills and attitudes in adolescents of an underserved, multiethnic milieu.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To implement a culturally tailored physical activity (PA) promotion program (FunAction) and to assess its impact on five self-regulation skills and attitudes in adolescents. Design . The design and implementation of the FunAction program were informed by social marketing principles. The study used a quasi-experimental approach to assess the impact of the program on specific outcome variables.
  
  
  METHODS
  A multiethnic, underserved middle school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  The intervention group was made up of grade 8 students (n  =  165) and the control group was made up of grade 7 students (n  =  137).
  
  
  METHODS
  During the 16-week intervention, adolescents were able to choose from a variety of 45-minute cardiovascular PAs offered daily during their school lunch period. Adolescents participated in the activities on a voluntary basis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A self-report questionnaire was administered preintervention and postintervention to measure adolescents' scores on the following self-regulation skills and attitudes: self-control, self-esteem, attention/concentration, social competence, and interethnic relationships.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three-way repeated measures analyses of variance and correlational analyses were used. Results . A significant improvement was observed only in attention/concentration. Girls' attention/concentration scores improved significantly in the intervention group compared to the control group (F(1,127)  =  16.26, p < .001). The improvement in attention/concentration scores for boys in the intervention group was correlated with their frequency of participation in the program PAs (r  =  .24, p  =  .008).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using social marketing principles can help encourage adolescents from underserved, multiethnic milieus to participate in PA during their school lunch hour. Furthermore, voluntary participation in a culturally tailored PA program can improve youths' attention/concentration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. suzanne.laberge@umontreal.ca
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Laberge
authors.forename: Paula Louise
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Bush
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chagnon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D011792:Quebec; D012574:Schools / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D040241:Social Marketing