Abstract
Background: Increasing access and opportunity for physical activity (PA) in schools are effective; however, not everyone experiences the same effects. Prompting and reinforcement may encourage more frequent participation in recreational PA during the school day. The purpose of this study was to investigate a lunchtime PA intervention on whole school PA participation and whether behavioral support enhanced these effects. Methods: A modified reversal design compared an environmental and an environmental plus behavioral support intervention on lunchtime PA participation versus baseline levels in a suburban junior high school in the western United States (N = 1452). PA and related contextual data were collected using systematic observation. Results: Significantly more girls and boys were observed in PA during the interventions compared with baseline phases (F2,1173 = 13.52, P < .0001, η2 = .023; F2,1173 = 20.14, P < .0001, η2 = .033, for girls and boys, respectively). There were no significant differences between the environmental phase and the environment plus behavioral support phase. Conclusion: Providing access and opportunity significantly increased the number of girls and boys observed in PA during a lunchtime program, with no additive effects of behavioral support. Further research into providing the individual-level contingencies at an institutional level is needed.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 785-792 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Physical Activity and Health |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 1 2017 |
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Keywords
- Behavioral science
- Gender
- Intervention study
- Recreation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Cite this
Environmental and behavioral influences of physical activity in junior high school students. / Lorenz, Kent A.; Van Der Mars, Hans; Kulinna, Pamela; Ainsworth, Barbara; Hovell, Melbourne F.
In: Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Vol. 14, No. 10, 01.10.2017, p. 785-792.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmental and behavioral influences of physical activity in junior high school students
AU - Lorenz, Kent A.
AU - Van Der Mars, Hans
AU - Kulinna, Pamela
AU - Ainsworth, Barbara
AU - Hovell, Melbourne F.
PY - 2017/10/1
Y1 - 2017/10/1
N2 - Background: Increasing access and opportunity for physical activity (PA) in schools are effective; however, not everyone experiences the same effects. Prompting and reinforcement may encourage more frequent participation in recreational PA during the school day. The purpose of this study was to investigate a lunchtime PA intervention on whole school PA participation and whether behavioral support enhanced these effects. Methods: A modified reversal design compared an environmental and an environmental plus behavioral support intervention on lunchtime PA participation versus baseline levels in a suburban junior high school in the western United States (N = 1452). PA and related contextual data were collected using systematic observation. Results: Significantly more girls and boys were observed in PA during the interventions compared with baseline phases (F2,1173 = 13.52, P < .0001, η2 = .023; F2,1173 = 20.14, P < .0001, η2 = .033, for girls and boys, respectively). There were no significant differences between the environmental phase and the environment plus behavioral support phase. Conclusion: Providing access and opportunity significantly increased the number of girls and boys observed in PA during a lunchtime program, with no additive effects of behavioral support. Further research into providing the individual-level contingencies at an institutional level is needed.
AB - Background: Increasing access and opportunity for physical activity (PA) in schools are effective; however, not everyone experiences the same effects. Prompting and reinforcement may encourage more frequent participation in recreational PA during the school day. The purpose of this study was to investigate a lunchtime PA intervention on whole school PA participation and whether behavioral support enhanced these effects. Methods: A modified reversal design compared an environmental and an environmental plus behavioral support intervention on lunchtime PA participation versus baseline levels in a suburban junior high school in the western United States (N = 1452). PA and related contextual data were collected using systematic observation. Results: Significantly more girls and boys were observed in PA during the interventions compared with baseline phases (F2,1173 = 13.52, P < .0001, η2 = .023; F2,1173 = 20.14, P < .0001, η2 = .033, for girls and boys, respectively). There were no significant differences between the environmental phase and the environment plus behavioral support phase. Conclusion: Providing access and opportunity significantly increased the number of girls and boys observed in PA during a lunchtime program, with no additive effects of behavioral support. Further research into providing the individual-level contingencies at an institutional level is needed.
KW - Behavioral science
KW - Gender
KW - Intervention study
KW - Recreation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85031044997&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85031044997&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1123/jpah.2016-0709
DO - 10.1123/jpah.2016-0709
M3 - Article
VL - 14
SP - 785
EP - 792
JO - Journal of Physical Activity and Health
JF - Journal of Physical Activity and Health
SN - 1543-3080
IS - 10
ER -