Physical Activity Engagement: Perspectives From Adolescents With Comorbid Asthma and Overweight/Obesity and Their Caregivers.

OBJECTIVE: Most adolescents do not meet physical activity (PA) guidelines, and engagement rates are even lower among adolescents with asthma and overweight/obesity (OW/OB). Understanding barriers and facilitators to PA engagement that are unique to youth with comorbid asthma and OW/OB is important for PA promotion. The current qualitative study identified caregiver- and adolescent-reported factors contributing to PA among adolescents with comorbid asthma and OW/OB across the four domains of the Pediatric Self-Management Model: individual, family, community, and health care system. METHODS: Participants were 20 adolescents (Mage = 16.01; 55% male) with asthma and OW/OB and their caregiver (90% mothers). Caregivers and adolescents participated in separate semistructured interviews about influences, processes, and behaviors related to adolescent PA engagement. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Factors contributing to PA varied across four domains. The individual domain included influences (e.g., weight status, psychological and physical challenges, asthma triggers and symptoms) and behaviors (e.g., taking asthma medications, self-monitoring). At the family level, influences included support, lack of modeling, and independence; processes included prompts and praise; and behaviors included engaging in shared PA and providing resources. Community-level influences included surrounding and settings, social support, and cornonavirus disease-2019-related changes, while behaviors included engaging in PA with others and extracurricular activities. CONCLUSIONS: Influences, processes, and behaviors across multiple domains interact to impact adolescent PA engagement, highlighting factors that may be potential leverage points in prevention and intervention efforts to promote adolescent PA.

Adolescent risk and protection profiles for violence perpetration: Insights for family- and community-based prevention.

Youth violence continues to be a major developmental and health concern. Preventative resources at individual, family, and community levels may reduce risk, yet the extent to which youth violence perpetration differs by patterns of risk and protective factors remains unknown. Using data from the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (N = 4630; 49% female; Mage = 14.69), we conducted person-centered, latent profile analyses to identify four patterns for risk of violence perpetration among middle and high school youth. Youth in the Low Risk-High Protection profile (37%) had low likelihood of violence perpetration. Youth in the Low Risk-Low Protection profile (4%) were characterized by poor family functioning, low school belonging, and low community protection. These youth had similar odds of violence perpetration as youth in the Moderate Risk-Moderate Protection profile (44%), which were elevated compared to the Low Risk-High Protection profile. Youth in the High Risk-Low Protection profile (15%), which had the highest levels of risk factors and lowest levels of protective factors, had the highest likelihood of violence perpetration. The High Risk-Low Protection profile was expected based on past research, but the emergence of the Low Risk-Low Protection profile is a unique contribution to the research. Findings contribute to the literature by going beyond a cumulative risk model, identifying subgroups with various patterns of risk and protection in the population, and highlighting the importance of selected prevention for subgroups of youth with high risk or challenging family and community environments.

Associations Between Weight-Based Bullying, Developmental Internal Assets, and Perceived Social Support Among Youth.

BACKGROUND: Youth with obesity are likely to experience weight-based bullying victimization, and adolescents have the highest obesity rates among children. Factors that protect youth from traditional bullying victimization may protect youth from weight-based bullying victimization: internal assets such as positive identity and social competence, and external assets such as perceived support from parents and friends. METHODS: To examine this proposition, data from 8th, 9th, and 11th graders were obtained from the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey (N = 126,495). Logistic regressions were conducted to identify the relationship between assets and weight-based bullying and to determine possible moderation by weight status. RESULTS: Results demonstrate that positive identity, parent support, and friend support were associated with lower odds of experiencing weight-based bullying victimization. Moderation analyses revealed that perceived parent support was most protective against experiencing weight-based bullying victimization among youth with obesity compared to youth with overweight, normal weight, or underweight. CONCLUSION: School administrators, counselors, and teachers should be aware of the increased risk of weight-based bullying for youth with obesity and underweight. Results underscore the need to foster youth's internal assets like positive identity to promote a strength-based approach for prevention. Parent involvement is warranted in weight-based bullying prevention efforts.