Physical Activity And Affect In Adolescent Girls: Insights From A Daily Diary Study

PURPOSE: Adolescent girls experience higher rates of physical inactivity and affective disorders compared to their male peers. Yet, few studies have used intensive longitudinal methods to explore relations between physical activity and affect in the context of daily life in this population. Further, most research investigating within-person relations between physical activity and affect have not differentiated between levels of activation in positive or negative affect constructs. Such work is necessary to understand how physical activity can promote adaptive daily affective experiences and, ultimately, improve the health and well-being of girls. METHODS: Adolescent girls (n = 66, 12-18 years) completed a 28-day daily diary study. Each evening, girls completed two single items modified from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form to assess time spent in moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) that day. Affect was also assessed each evening using the Four Dimensions of Dispositional Mood Scale, modified to reflect daily experiences. Daily composite scores for high positive affect (e.g., energetic), low positive affect (e.g., tired), high negative affect (e.g., upset), low negative affect (e.g., calm) were created. MVPA were disaggregated to create between-person (i.e., more or less active girls) and within-person (i.e., more or less active days) variables. Multilevel models regressed daily affect on between- and within-person MVPA, controlling for age, BMI, race, day of the week, and previous day’s affect. RESULTS: At the within-person level, on days when girls engaged in more MVPA than was typical for them, they reported more high positive affect (e.g., energetic; B = 0.13, p < 0.01), low positive affect (e.g., tired; B = 0.02, p = 0.04), and low negative affect (e.g., calm; B = -0.02, p = 0.02) on those days. At the between-person level, girls who tended to engage in more MVPA overall, reported more high positive affect (B = 0.04, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Accounting for activation in conceptualizations of affect reveals nuances in associations between daily physical activity and affect among adolescent girls. Future research should examine these processes within days to better understand acute relations between physical activity and affect in adolescent girls. Supported by: Funding for this study was provided by the University of North Carolina Greensboro School of Health and Human Sciences’ Research Excellence Award