Using a Socioecological Approach to Examine Participation in Sport and Physical Activity Among Rural Adolescent Girls

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical time for developing lifelong healthy behaviors, including active lifestyles. Participation in sport and physical activity, however, declines during adolescence, and few studies have comprehensively identified why, particularly among rural girls. This article identifies a range of independent and interacting factors that influence sport and physical activity participation of rural adolescent girls. The socioecological model of health was used to guide four focus group discussions with Grade 7 girls (n = 34). The results showed that adolescent girls were positively influenced when sports or physical activities were fun, when they involved being with friends, and when they were supported by families and teachers through role modeling and positive feedback. A range of intrapersonal and organizational factors affected perceived self-competence, particularly the coeducational nature of school physical education classes and peer teasing, which supported social comparisons of skill level. In promoting sport and physical activity to rural adolescent girls, focus must be directed on developmentally appropriate activities that are fun, offering opportunities for single-sex classes, and generating cultural changes that encourage noncompetitive and self-referencing activities.

Are they ‘worth their weight in gold’? Sport for older adults: benefits and barriers of their participation for sporting organisations

“…Thus this study focused on the interpersonal, organisational and policy domains of the model, and how themes within these domains may influence each other. The socioecological model is increasingly being used within the area of sport participation, including with adolescents (Casey et al, 2009a, Toftegaard-Støckel et al, 2011, Eime et al, 2013 and people living in socio-economically deprived neighbourhoods (Cleland et al, 2010). It has also been used in ageing literature for understanding health behaviours (Marquez et al, 2009) and mobility limitation (Yeom et al, 2008).…”

“…There has been extensive research in regard to the participation determinants of physical activity and some research on the determinants of sport participation, but mainly from the perspective of children and young adults (Casey et al, 2009a, Dwyer et al, 2006, Kalakanis et al, 2001). Of the current research on the determinants of older adults participating in sport, these predominantly focus on specific sports that are recognised as traditional for older adults, such as bowls (Heuser, 2005) or golf (Cann et al, 2005, Siegenthaler andO'Dell, 2003) rather than sports in general.…”

Sport development and physical activity promotion: An integrated model to enhance collaboration and understanding

“…This is particularly relevant given the ability to marry this model with a range of key attributes of sport development knowledge. Furthermore, ecological models have been effectively applied in qualitative (Casey et al, 2009;Eime et al, 2010;Humbert et al, 2006) and quantitative (Cleland et al, 2010;GilesCorti, 2006;Giles-Corti & Donovan, 2002;Giles-Corti et al, 2005) contexts. As a result, it offers a flexible framework that can transcend paradigmatic barriers.…”

The focus group method and possibilities of its application in kinantropological research

“…Např. v medicíně k prozkoumání aspektů funkce a důležitosti zdraví u pacientů -diabetiků (Kirchberger at al., 2009), dále ve vzdělávání (Wilson, 1997, Ashton, 2009, Finke, McNaughton & Drager, 2009, Thurgate & MacGregor, 2009, v gerontologii (Bryant, Laditka & Mathews, 2009), v závislém chování (Millay, Satyanarayana, O'Leary, Crecelius & Cottler, 2009, Patten at al., 2009, ve sportovním managementu (Inglis, 1992), v pohybové aktivitě (Draper, KolbeAlexander & Lambert 2009, Casey, Eime, Payne & Harvey, 2009, atd.…”