IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i4p1713-d497216.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Levels of Physical Activity and Mental Health in Adolescents in Ireland

Author

Listed:
  • Michal Molcho

    (School of Education, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland)

  • Aoife Gavin

    (Health Promotion Research Centre, School of Health Sciences, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland)

  • Devon Goodwin

    (School of Education, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland)

Abstract

The benefits of physical activity for the physical health of individuals are well documented. Less is known about the benefits of physical activity for mental health. This paper explores the associations between physical activity and positive mental health and mental health problems. The paper utilises data collected from a representative sample of 10–17-year-old adolescents in Ireland. Physical activity in the study is measured using moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA). Mental health was measured using the Cantril Leader of Life Satisfaction, the WHO-5 index, Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) and the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Symptom Checklist (HBSC-SCL). Data were analysed using bivariate (Pearson Correlation, t-test, one-way ANOVA) and multivariate (two-way ANOVA, ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions) analyses. In total, 8636 adolescents were included in this analysis. Higher participation in physical activity was associated with higher scores on the positive mental health indicators and lower scores on the mental health problems indicators. When modelled together, VPA was a stronger predictor of mental health than MVPA, especially in girls. For example, standardised beta coefficients for predicting MHI-5 were −0.09 for MVPA ( p < 0.001) and −0.13 for VPA ( p < 0.001) To our knowledge, this is the first study that looks at levels of physical activity as well as both positive mental health and mental health problems. The study highlights the need to encourage and enable adolescents, and especially girls, to participate in vigorous exercising as way of promoting positive mental health.

Suggested Citation

  • Michal Molcho & Aoife Gavin & Devon Goodwin, 2021. "Levels of Physical Activity and Mental Health in Adolescents in Ireland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-12, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:1713-:d:497216
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1713/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1713/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Masatoshi Tahara & Yuki Mashizume & Kayoko Takahashi, 2020. "Coping Mechanisms: Exploring Strategies Utilized by Japanese Healthcare Workers to Reduce Stress and Improve Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Candace Currie & Saoirse Nic Gabhainn & Emmanuelle Godeau, 2009. "The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children: WHO Collaborative Cross-National (HBSC) Study: origins, concept, history and development 1982–2008," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 54(2), pages 131-139, September.
    3. Iago Portela-Pino & Antonio López-Castedo & María José Martínez-Patiño & Teresa Valverde-Esteve & José Domínguez-Alonso, 2019. "Gender Differences in Motivation and Barriers for The Practice of Physical Exercise in Adolescence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-9, December.
    4. Genevieve Gariepy & Britt McKinnon & Mariane Sentenac & Frank J. Elgar, 2016. "Validity and Reliability of a Brief Symptom Checklist to Measure Psychological Health in School-Aged Children," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 9(2), pages 471-484, June.
    5. Dagmar Sigmundová & Erik Sigmund & Riki Tesler & Kwok W. Ng & Zdenek Hamrik & Frida Kathrine Sofie Mathisen & Jo Inchley & Jens Bucksch, 2019. "Vigorous physical activity in relation to family affluence: time trends in Europe and North America," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 64(7), pages 1049-1058, September.
    6. Finiki Nearchou & Clodagh Flinn & Rachel Niland & Sheena Siva Subramaniam & Eilis Hennessy, 2020. "Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-19, November.
    7. Daise Fernanda Santos Souza Escobar & Priscilla Rayanne e Silva Noll & Thaís Ferreira de Jesus & Matias Noll, 2020. "Assessing the Mental Health of Brazilian Students Involved in Risky Behaviors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-14, May.
    8. Daise Fernanda Santos Souza Escobar & Thais Ferreira de Jesus & Priscilla Rayanne e Silva Noll & Matias Noll, 2020. "Family and School Context: Effects on the Mental Health of Brazilian Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-13, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Taijin Wang & Yingtao Qian & Tianwei Zhong & Jing Qi, 2022. "Associations between Fundamental Movement Skills and Moderate-to-Vigorous Intensity Physical Activity among Chinese Children and Adolescents with Intellectual Disability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-15, October.
    2. Veronica Jägerbrink & Joakim Glaser & Anna Hafsteinsson Östenberg, 2022. "Extracurricular Pulse Activities in School: Students’ Attitudes and Experiences," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-11, November.
    3. Daniela Pierannunzio & Angela Spinelli & Paola Berchialla & Alberto Borraccino & Lorena Charrier & Paola Dalmasso & Giacomo Lazzeri & Alessio Vieno & Silvia Ciardullo & Paola Nardone, 2022. "Physical Activity among Italian Adolescents: Association with Life Satisfaction, Self-Rated Health and Peer Relationships," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-12, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Huajun Wu & Zhiyong Cai & Qing Yan & Yi Yu & Ning Neil Yu, 2021. "The Impact of Childhood Left-Behind Experience on the Mental Health of Late Adolescents: Evidence from Chinese College Freshmen," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-12, March.
    2. Emma Motrico & Jose A. Salinas-Perez & Maria Luisa Rodero-Cosano & Sonia Conejo-Cerón, 2021. "Editors’ Comments on the Special Issue “Social Determinants of Mental Health”," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-9, April.
    3. Giulia Casu & Valentina Hlebec & Licia Boccaletti & Irena Bolko & Alessandra Manattini & Elizabeth Hanson, 2021. "Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being among Adolescent Young Carers in Europe: A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-23, February.
    4. Ascensión Fumero & Rosario J. Marrero & Alicia Pérez-Albéniz & Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero, 2021. "Adolescents’ Bipolar Experiences and Suicide Risk: Well-being and Mental Health Difficulties as Mediators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-16, March.
    5. Xu Chen & Ling Li & Gangwu Lv & Hui Li, 2021. "Parental Behavioral Control and Bullying and Victimization of Rural Adolescents in China: The Roles of Deviant Peer Affiliation and Gender," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-13, April.
    6. Dongying Li & Tess Menotti & Yizhen Ding & Nancy M. Wells, 2021. "Life Course Nature Exposure and Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Future Directions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-28, May.
    7. Julia Dray, 2021. "Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Resilience-Focussed Interventions: A Conceptual Analysis to Inform Future Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-17, July.
    8. Azizah Alyoubi & Elizabeth J. Halstead & Zoe Zambelli & Dagmara Dimitriou, 2021. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students’ Mental Health and Sleep in Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-16, September.
    9. Michele da Silva Valadão Fernandes & Thays Martins Vital da Silva & Priscilla Rayanne e Silva Noll & Alexandre Aparecido de Almeida & Matias Noll, 2022. "Depressive Symptoms and Their Associated Factors in Vocational–Technical School Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-20, March.
    10. Katriona O’Sullivan & Serena Clark & Amy McGrane & Nicole Rock & Lydia Burke & Neasa Boyle & Natasha Joksimovic & Kevin Marshall, 2021. "A Qualitative Study of Child and Adolescent Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ireland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-15, January.
    11. Maartje Boer & Concepción Moreno-Maldonado & Maxim Dierckens & Michela Lenzi & Candace Currie & Caroline Residori & Lucia Bosáková & Paola Berchialla & Tamsyn Eida & Gonneke Stevens, 2024. "The Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic for the Construction of the Family Affluence Scale: Findings from 16 Countries," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 17(1), pages 395-418, February.
    12. Petr Badura & Erik Sigmund & Andrea Madarasova Geckova & Dagmar Sigmundova & Jan Sirucek & Jitse P van Dijk & Sijmen A Reijneveld, 2016. "Is Participation in Organized Leisure-Time Activities Associated with School Performance in Adolescence?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(4), pages 1-13, April.
    13. Dae-Jung Lee & Wi-Young So & Seung-Man Lee, 2021. "The Relationship between Korean Adolescents’ Sports Participation, Internal Health Locus of Control, and Wellness during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-13, March.
    14. Néboa Zozaya & Laura Vallejo, 2020. "The Effect of the Economic Crisis on Adolescents’ Perceived Health and Risk Behaviors: A Multilevel Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-14, January.
    15. Yu-Hsiu Chu & Yao-Chuen Li, 2022. "The Impact of Online Learning on Physical and Mental Health in University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-10, March.
    16. Georgia Libera Finstad & Gabriele Giorgi & Lucrezia Ginevra Lulli & Caterina Pandolfi & Giulia Foti & José M. León-Perez & Francisco J. Cantero-Sánchez & Nicola Mucci, 2021. "Resilience, Coping Strategies and Posttraumatic Growth in the Workplace Following COVID-19: A Narrative Review on the Positive Aspects of Trauma," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-25, September.
    17. Stephanie Scott & Victoria J. McGowan & Shelina Visram, 2021. "‘I’m Gonna Tell You about How Mrs Rona Has Affected Me’. Exploring Young People’s Experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in North East England: A Qualitative Diary-Based Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-21, April.
    18. Keonhyeong Lee & Liyuan Wang, 2023. "Chinese High-Tech Export Performance: Effects of Intellectual Capital Mediated by Dynamic and Risk Management Capabilities," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, February.
    19. Michael Zeiler & Tanja Wittek & Leonie Kahlenberg & Eva-Maria Gröbner & Martina Nitsch & Gudrun Wagner & Stefanie Truttmann & Helene Krauss & Karin Waldherr & Andreas Karwautz, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Adolescent Patients with Anorexia Nervosa: A Qualitative Interview Study Involving Adolescents and Parents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-16, April.
    20. Rebeca Gracia-Liso & Maria J. Portella & Joaquim Puntí-Vidal & Elena Pujals-Altés & Jordi Torralbas-Ortega & Marta Llorens & Montserrat Pamias & Marc Fradera-Jiménez & Itziar Montalvo-Aguirrezabala & , 2023. "COVID-19 Pandemic Has Changed the Psychiatric Profile of Adolescents Attempting Suicide: A Cross-Sectional Comparison," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-11, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:1713-:d:497216. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.