IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i5p2495-d755141.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Association between Gender and Physical Activity Was Partially Mediated by Social Network Size during COVID-19

Author

Listed:
  • Ashley Kuzmik

    (College of Nursing, Pennsylvania State University, 306 Nursing Sciences Building, University Park, Philadelphia, PA 16802, USA)

  • Yin Liu

    (Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Utah State University, 2905 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA)

  • Yendelela Cuffee

    (College of Health Sciences, University of Delaware, 100 Discovery Boulevard, Newark, DE 19713, USA)

  • Lan Kong

    (Departments of Medicine and Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA 17033, USA)

  • Christopher N. Sciamanna

    (Departments of Medicine and Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA 17033, USA)

  • Liza S. Rovniak

    (Departments of Medicine and Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA 17033, USA)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted physical activity, particularly among women. Limited research has explored how social network support may explain gender-based variations in physical activity during COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of social networks in the association between gender and physical activity during a pandemic. This cross-sectional survey assessed whether social network characteristics (i.e., in-person social network size, frequency of in-person social network interactions, and online friend network size) mediate the relationship between gender and either past-week or past-year physical activity. Multiple mediation analyses were conducted to determine the indirect effect of gender on physical activity through social networks. Among 205 participants, women (n = 129) were significantly less physically active (β = −73.82; p = 0.02) than men (n = 76) and reported significantly more Facebook friends (β = 0.30; p < 0.001) than men, which was inversely associated with past-week physical activity (β = −64.49; p = 0.03). Additionally, the indirect effect of gender on past-week physical activity through Facebook friends was significant (β = −19.13; 95% CI [−40.45, −2.09]). Findings suggest that social media sites such as Facebook could be used to encourage physical activity among women during a pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Ashley Kuzmik & Yin Liu & Yendelela Cuffee & Lan Kong & Christopher N. Sciamanna & Liza S. Rovniak, 2022. "The Association between Gender and Physical Activity Was Partially Mediated by Social Network Size during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-13, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:5:p:2495-:d:755141
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/5/2495/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/5/2495/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fei Qin & Yiqing Song & George P Nassis & Lina Zhao & Yanan Dong & Cuicui Zhao & Yiwei Feng & Jiexiu Zhao, 2020. "Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Emotional Well-Being during the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-16, July.
    2. Carl P. Nienhuis & Iris A. Lesser, 2020. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Women’s Physical Activity Behavior and Mental Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-12, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Yuta Suzuki & Noriaki Maeda & Daigo Hirado & Taizan Shirakawa & Yukio Urabe, 2020. "Physical Activity Changes and Its Risk Factors among Community-Dwelling Japanese Older Adults during the COVID-19 Epidemic: Associations with Subjective Well-Being and Health-Related Quality of Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-12, September.
    2. Shuangshuang Xin & Xiujie Ma, 2023. "Mechanisms of Physical Exercise Effects on Anxiety in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Lockdown: An Analysis of the Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience and the Moderating Role of Media Exposure," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.
    3. Zhiqiang Ren & Jianyi Tan & Baoying Huang & Jinqun Cheng & Yanhong Huang & Peng Xu & Xuanbi Fang & Hongjuan Li & Dongmei Zhang & Yanhui Gao, 2022. "Association between 24-Hour Movement Behaviors and Smartphone Addiction among Adolescents in Foshan City, Southern China: Compositional Data Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-13, August.
    4. Chun-Chin Liao & Chien-Huei Hsu & Kuei-Pin Kuo & Yu-Jy Luo & Chun-Chieh Kao, 2023. "Ability of the Sport Education Model to Promote Healthy Lifestyles in University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-11, January.
    5. Verónica Violant-Holz & M. Gloria Gallego-Jiménez & Carina S. González-González & Sarah Muñoz-Violant & Manuel José Rodríguez & Oriol Sansano-Nadal & Myriam Guerra-Balic, 2020. "Psychological Health and Physical Activity Levels during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-19, December.
    6. Haleama Al Sabbah & Zainab Taha & Radwan Qasrawi & Enas A. Assaf & Leila Cheikh Ismail & Ayesha S. Al Dhaheri & Maha Hoteit & Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh & Reema Tayyem & Hiba Bawadi & Majid AlKhalaf & Khlood B, 2022. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Physical (In)Activity Behavior in 10 Arab Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-15, August.
    7. Jennie A. Petersen & Calli Naish & Dalia Ghoneim & Jason L. Cabaj & Patricia K. Doyle-Baker & Gavin R. McCormack, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour: A Qualitative Study in a Canadian City," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-15, April.
    8. Bote Qi & Jingwang Tan & Qingwen Zhang & Meng Cao & Xingxiong Wang & Yu Zou, 2021. "Unfixed Movement Route Model, Non-Overcrowding and Social Distancing Reduce the Spread of COVID-19 in Sporting Facilities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-9, August.
    9. Kyunghwan Jung & Younglae Choi, 2023. "Factors Influencing Physical Activity and Exercise in Older Adults during COVID-19 in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-20, May.
    10. Yuetao Liu & Zhiyuan Wang & Songhui You, 2021. "The Mediating Effect of Coping Style on Physical Activity and Negative Affect Caused by Public Health Emergencies: Evidence from Chinese College Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-13, November.
    11. Sandra Haider & Lee Smith & Lovro Markovic & Felipe B. Schuch & Kabir P. Sadarangani & Guillermo Felipe Lopez Sanchez & Rubén Lopez-Bueno & Alejandro Gil-Salmerón & Anita Rieder & Mark A. Tully & Lena, 2021. "Associations between Physical Activity, Sitting Time, and Time Spent Outdoors with Mental Health during the First COVID-19 Lock Down in Austria," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-12, August.
    12. Teresa Rubio-Tomás & Maria Skouroliakou & Dimitrios Ntountaniotis, 2022. "Lockdown Due to COVID-19 and Its Consequences on Diet, Physical Activity, Lifestyle, and Other Aspects of Daily Life Worldwide: A Narrative Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-41, June.
    13. Souhail Hermassi & El Ghali Bouhafs & Nicola Luigi Bragazzi & Shiro Ichimura & Khaled E. Alsharji & Lawrence D. Hayes & René Schwesig, 2021. "Effects of Home Confinement on the Intensity of Physical Activity during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Team Handball According to Country, Gender, Competition Level, and Playing Position: A Worldwide Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-21, April.
    14. Daisuke Sasaki & Anawat Suppasri & Haruka Tsukuda & David N. Nguyen & Yasuaki Onoda & Fumihiko Imamura, 2022. "People’s Perception of Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in Japan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-13, September.
    15. Anna Sojka & Mariusz Machniak & Waldemar Andrzejewski & Aureliusz Kosendiak & Agnieszka Chwałczyńska, 2022. "Changes in Physical Activity and the Occurrence of Specific Symptoms of “Long-COVID Syndrome” in Men Aged 18–25," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-13, January.
    16. Sam Hernández-Jaña & Danica Escobar-Gómez & Carlos Cristi-Montero & José Castro-Piñero & Fernando Rodríguez-Rodríguez, 2022. "Changes in Active Behaviours, Physical Activity, Sedentary Time, and Physical Fitness in Chilean Parents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-15, February.
    17. Young-Jae Kim & Seung-Woo Kang, 2020. "The Quality of Life, Psychological Health, and Occupational Calling of Korean Workers: Differences by the New Classes of Occupation Emerging Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-14, August.
    18. Cameron M. Gee & Femke Hoekstra & Joan Úbeda-Colomer & Tara Joy Knibbe & Pinder DaSilva & Kathleen A. Martin Ginis, 2022. "Physical Activity, Well-Being, and the Needs of Canadians with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Disabilities, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-13, November.
    19. Polyakova, V. & Streltsova, E. & Iudin, I. & Kuzina, L., 2024. "Irreversible effects? How the digitalization of daily practices has changed after the COVID-19 pandemic," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    20. Francesca Gallè & Elita Anna Sabella & Marco Di Muzio & Benedetta Barchielli & Giovanna Da Molin & Stefano Ferracuti & Giorgio Liguori & Giovanni Battista Orsi & Christian Napoli, 2022. "Capturing the Features of Physical Activity in Old Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of an Italian Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-12, June.

    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:19:y:2022:i:5:p:2495-:d:755141. 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.