title: Longitudinal Patterns of Active Leisure among South African Youth: Gender Differences and Associations with Health Risk Behaviours.
abstract: This study identified adolescents' patterns of active leisure participation over two years and five waves of data and how those patterns were related to substance use and sexual activity. Participants included 3581 primarily Colored (mixed race) South African adolescents. Latent class analysis was utilized to determine patterns of active leisure patterns and multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the relationships between the patterns and substance use and sexual activity. Four patterns were identified:Non-Participants;Early Participants;Late Participants; andConsistent Participants. Most males wereConsistent Participants, whereas most females wereNon-participants. FemaleConsistent Participantshad the lowest odds of tobacco use, marijuana use, and sexual activity by the tenth grade relative to the other patterns, whereasEarly Participantshad the highest odds. In contrast, maleConsistent Participantswere at moderate risk of engaging in health risk behaviors relative to the other patterns. These findings suggest the need for a cautious approach to developing active leisure-based interventions, taking into account the contextual factors that may influence participation and health risk behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion, Social & Behavioral Health, The University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Tibbits
authors.affiliation: Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, USA.
authors.forename: Linda L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Caldwell
authors.affiliation: The Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, USA.
authors.forename: Edward A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: HIV and AIDS Program, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa.
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vergnani
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wegner
keywords: South Africa; adolescence; physical activity; sexual activity; sport; substance use