Associations Between Adolescent Psychological Factors and Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Young Adulthood by Disability Status

Objective: Physical activity (PA) during adolescence plays a crucial role in shaping lifelong health behaviors; however, longitudinal evidence on the associations between psychological factors and PA and sedentary behavior (SB) remains limited, particularly among populations defined by disability status. This study examined associations between adolescent depressive symptoms, parental control, parental warmth, and self-esteem and changes in PA and SB from adolescence to young adulthood among individuals with and without physical disabilities. Methods: Using nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 7339), including 427 participants classified as having a physical disability, we examined changes in PA and SB from adolescence to young adulthood. We separately developed 16 survey-weighted multinomial logistic regression models representing combinations of activity type (PA or SB), psychological factor (depressive symptoms, parental warmth, parental control, or self-esteem), and disability status (yes or no), while adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Results: Several psychological factors were associated with longitudinal changes in PA and SB. Among participants with physical disabilities, higher normalized self-esteem scores were associated with a greater likelihood of decreased PA (RRR = 15.89, 95% CI: 2.11–119.53). Higher normalized depressive symptom scores were associated with both a greater likelihood of decreased SB (RRR = 19.08, 95% CI: 1.12–326.40) and increased SB (RRR = 10.30, 95% CI: 1.19–89.07), relative to maintaining stable levels. Conclusions: Adolescent psychological and parental factors were associated with longitudinal patterns of PA and SB from adolescence to young adulthood. These findings provide evidence of associations within both disability groups and support further research examining how psychological factors relate to changes in PA and SB across the transition to young adulthood.