title: Teacher and Friend Social Support: Association with Body Weight in African-American Adolescent Females.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect ecological influences of teacher and friend social support on body weight and diet behaviors in African-American adolescent females. Using a quantitative, cross-sectional research design, a convenience sample of 182 urban African-American adolescent females (12-17 years old) completed a 39-item questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed perceived teacher social support, friend social support, nutrition self-efficacy, and diet behaviors (with internal reliability values of scale items: alpha = 0.74, 0.81, 0.77, and 0.69 respectively). Anthropometric assessments were conducted to measure height and weight to compute BMI. Majority of the participants were in middle or early high school (65 %) and were overweight or obese (57.7 %). Both teacher social support and friend social support demonstrated a positive, indirect influence on child weight status through nutrition self-efficacy and diet behaviors following two different and specific paths of influence. Diet behaviors, in turn, demonstrated a positive, direct effect on child weight status. In the structural model, teacher social support had the greatest effect on diet behaviors, demonstrating a direct, positive influence on diet behaviors (B = 0.421, p < 0.05), but its direct effect on nutrition self-efficacy was not significant. Friend social support demonstrated a positive, direct effect on nutrition self-efficacy (B = 0.227, p < 0.05), but its direct effect on diet behaviors was not statistically significant. The study's findings call for actively addressing the childhood obesity epidemic in the school environment by implementing health behavior change strategies at various social and ecological environmental levels.
authors: University of Florida, Jacksonville, FL, USA. jevetta.stanford@jax.ufl.edu.
authors: Jevetta
authors: J
authors: Stanford
authors: Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA. jkhubchandan@bsu.edu.
authors: Jagdish
authors: J
authors: Khubchandani
authors: University of Florida, Jacksonville, FL, USA. fern.webb@jax.ufl.edu.
authors: Fern J
authors: FJ
authors: Webb
authors: University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA. jenny.lee@unthsc.edu.
authors: Jenny
authors: J
authors: Lee
authors: Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA. mad@nova.edu.
authors: Michelle
authors: M
authors: Doldren
authors: University of Florida, Jacksonville, FL, USA. mobeen.rathore@jax.ufl.edu.
authors: Mobeen
authors: M
authors: Rathore
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001835:Body Weight / Q000208:ethnology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D050177:Overweight / Q000208:ethnology; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000208:ethnology; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Adolescent Females; African-American; Body weight; Obesity; School Health; Social Support