Participation in physical activity (PA) tends to decline between childhood and adolescence, and in Australia the bulk of this decline has been shown to occur in the domain of non-organised PA (e.g. active play, informal sports). A better understanding of the reasons for the decline in non-organised PA may support strategies to counter barriers and…

Adolescents encounter a variety of challenges and risk factors that can result in adversity or unsafe behaviors often associated with mental health problems. However, the attribute of resilience can potentially buffer the effects of such risk factors. Sports participation, a form of activity available to a large number of adolescents through…

School recess physical activity is important for adolescent s health and development, and several studies have established evidence based on cross-sectional studies that it is influenced by the environment in the schoolyard. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect and variation across schools of a school-based intervention on students…

Introduction: Based on internal and external assets, the positive youth development approach aims to increase the capacity among adolescents to overcome challenges as they transition to adulthood. Developmental assets have been found to be positively associated with academic achievement, a variety of health promoting behaviors, and improved…

Introduction: Disparities in cardiovascular diseases are one of today's most important public health challenges. Pathological processes related to modifiable cardiovascular risk factors have shown to begin in childhood and disparities in these risk factors have been reported in adolescence. Food insecurity is significantly associated with…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the existing evidence about the impact of sport/physical activity programmes on positive youth development in the context of education. The issue of youth disaffection is topical and a number of authors and policy makers have acknowledged that physical activity/sport may be an effective way of helping to…

Examined body image satisfaction in Turkish adolescents. Findings from 269 female and 286 male secondary school students revealed that males were more satisfied with their bodies than were females, early-maturing males and late-maturing females had higher levels of body image satisfaction, and participants in physical activities were more…

Assessed readiness to be or stay physically active among 5th and 6th graders using the Stage of Change paradigm. Student surveys indicated that 40% were in the precontemplation stage and 60% were in post-action stages. Significantly more boys than girls were in maintenance, and more girls than boys were in contemplation. Attitudes toward physical…

This report describes the results of two statewide surveys conducted during Spring, 1991: the 1992 Utah Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and the 1991 Utah School Health Education Survey (SHES). Sixty-three schools were randomly selected to participate in the state-level YRBS, and all 311 public and private schools with students in grades 7…

This report describes the results of the 1993 Utah Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and summarizes results of the 1992 Utah School Health Education Survey. Many health problems experienced by youth are caused by a few preventable behaviors, such as alcohol abuse and unprotected sexual intercourse. Tobacco use, dietary patterns that cause disease,…

Relationships between self-reported past and present physical activity levels and self-image, sense of mastery, gender role identity, self-perceived physical ability, and self-perceived attractiveness were studied for 149 female high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Results are discussed in terms of adolescent emotional health. (SLD)

A longitudinal study of girls from the sixth through tenth grades sought to determine if the extent and type of participation in physical activities changed with age. A sample of 207 girls was selected with 140 completing the survey over 5 years. Participation was measured by activities in interschool teams, intramural activities,…