Abstract

Physical activity declines markedly in girls during the high school years and the determinants of this decline are poorly understood. The proposed investigation builds on an ongoing NHLBI-funded study for the purpose of expanding the body of knowledge on factors that influence change in physical activity in girls during their high school years. The ongoing study has observed the effects of a comprehensive, school-based intervention on physical activity in high school girls in the 9th grade. The proposed investigation will extend the current study by administering follow-up measures of physical activity and its hypothesized determinants to 12th grade girls who have attended participating schools since the 9th grade. The sample will include a sizeable cohort of girls who were observed in the 8th and 9th grades. The study will address two major aims.
Aim 1 : To determine the long-term effects of attending a school in which the intervention was implemented during their 9th grade year, approximately 1,825 12th grade girls in 11 intervention and 11 control high schools will complete measures of physical activity, physical fitness, and hypothesized determinants of physical activity. A pooled cohort/cross-sectional design will be employed to compare girls in intervention schools with those in control schools, and the unit of analysis will be the school.
Aim 2 : To identify factors that mediate and moderate changes in physical activity in girls during their high school years, structural equation modeling will be employed. Second-order factor latent growth curve analysis will be used to test the influence of selected factors on longitudinal changes in outcome variables. These analyses will be performed, with the individual student as the unit of analysis, in the cohort of approximately 1,165 girls who will have been observed in the 8th, 9th, and 12th grades. The analyses will consider the effects of exposure to the intervention, race/ethnicity, and weight status on the psychosocial and environmental factors that are hypothesized to influence change in physical activity over time. The proposed investigation will provide a unique and comprehensive examination of the factors that influence change in physical activity in high school girls.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HL057775-06
Application #
6620386
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHL1-CSR-I (O1))
Program Officer
Pratt, Charlotte
Project Start
1997-08-01
Project End
2005-02-28
Budget Start
2003-03-01
Budget End
2004-02-29
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$700,795
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
University of South Carolina at Columbia
Department
Other Health Professions
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
111310249
City
Columbia
State
SC
Country
United States
Zip Code
29208

  Publications

Saunders, R P; Pate, R R; Dowda, M et al. (2012) Assessing sustainability of Lifestyle Education for Activity Program (LEAP). Health Educ Res 27:319-30
Dowda, Marsha; Pfeiffer, Karin A; Lobelo, Felipe et al. (2012) Cardiorespiratory fitness and proximity to commercial physical activity facilities among 12th grade girls. J Adolesc Health 50:497-502
Trilk, Jennifer L; Ward, Dianne S; Dowda, Marsha et al. (2011) Do physical activity facilities near schools affect physical activity in high school girls? Health Place 17:651-7
Pfeiffer, Karin; Colabianchi, Natalie; Dowda, Marsha et al. (2011) Examining the role of churches in adolescent girls' physical activity. J Phys Act Health 8:227-33
Dishman, Rod K; Saunders, Ruth P; Motl, Robert W et al. (2009) Self-efficacy moderates the relation between declines in physical activity and perceived social support in high school girls. J Pediatr Psychol 34:441-51
Lobelo, Felipe; Dowda, Marsha; Pfeiffer, Karin A et al. (2009) Electronic media exposure and its association with activity-related outcomes in female adolescents: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. J Phys Act Health 6:137-43
Horn, Deborah B; O'Neill, Jennifer R; Pfeiffer, Karin A et al. (2008) Predictors of physical activity in the transition after high school among young women. J Phys Act Health 5:275-85
Sirard, John R; Pfeiffer, Karin A; Dowda, Marsha et al. (2008) Race differences in activity, fitness, and BMI in female eighth graders categorized by sports participation status. Pediatr Exerc Sci 20:198-210
Pate, Russell R; Colabianchi, Natalie; Porter, Dwayne et al. (2008) Physical activity and neighborhood resources in high school girls. Am J Prev Med 34:413-9
Pate, Russell R; Saunders, Ruth; Dishman, Rod K et al. (2007) Long-term effects of a physical activity intervention in high school girls. Am J Prev Med 33:276-80

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