Abstract
INTRODUCTION:
Social support and social relatedness are widely recognized to have a powerful effect on physical as well as mental health. Many interventions including physical activity (PA) can improve social determinants of mental health. This research aimed to investigate if general social support and social relatedness specific to the physical activity context impacts positively on mental health and negatively on anxiety and depression among youth.
METHODS:
A total of 1527 students (58% female; mean age = 18.4 years, SD = 2.4) completed questionnaires at baseline; 460 completed follow-up questionnaires 6 months later (Quebec, Canada). Multivariate linear regressions were performed to model the associations between global social support and social relatedness in PA at baseline and mental health, anxiety and depressive symptoms at follow-up controlling for sex, age, perceived socioeconomic status, PA volume and mental health/disorders symptoms at baseline.
RESULTS:
Global social support and social relatedness in PA were independent predictors of increased mental health (respectively ? (95%CI)= .18 (.04, .33) and ? (95%CI)=. 25 (.06, .44)), and decreased anxiety symptoms (respectively ? (95%CI)= -.06 (-.11, -.02) and ? (95%CI)= -.07 (-.13, -.02)). Only global social support was a significant predictor of decreased depressive symptoms (? (95%CI)= -.09 (-.14, -.04))
CONCLUSION:
These results suggest that both global social support and social relatedness in PA are predictors of mental health an anxiety symptoms. Interventions aiming at promoting mental health and preventing anxiety disorders among youth should not only target social support but also focus on enhancing social relatedness in the specific context of PA.
