Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2011, 113, 2, 631-646. Perceptual and Motor Skills 2011
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Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2011, 113, 2, 631-646. © Perceptual and Motor Skills 2011 DOI 10.2466/02.06.10.13.PMS.113.5.631-646 ISSN 0031-5125 STRESS AND HAPPINESS AMONG ADOLESCENTS WITH VARYING FREQUENCY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 1 INGER ELISE OPHEIM MOLJORD Department of Nidaros DPS Division of Psychiatry St.Olavs University Hospital Trondheim, Norway UNNI KARIN MOKSNES Research Centre for Health Promotion and Resources HiST/NTNU Faculty of Nursing Sør-Trøndelag University College LASSE ERIKSEN Department of Nidaros DPS Division of Psychiatry St.Olavs University Hospital Department of Neuromedicine Faculty of Medicine Norwegian University of Science and Technology GEIR ARILD ESPNES Research Centre for Health Promotion and Resources HiST/NTNU Department of Social Work and Health Science Norwegian University of Science and Technology Summary.—The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate associa- tions between physical activity, stress, and happiness, as well as possible sex and age differences on these variables in a survey of 1,508 adolescent pupils (13 to 18 yr.) in middle Norway. Adolescents who reported they participated in physical ac- tivity 2 to 3 times per week or more scored significantly lower on stress and higher on happiness than those who participated in physical activity 1 day per week or less. There was no significant difference on stress and happiness between those be- ing physically active 2 or 3 times a week and those being active almost every day. There was no sex difference in physical activity frequency. Girls had higher mean scores on stress, and boys scored higher on happiness. Adolescents 15 to 16 years old showed higher stress scores than those 17 to18 years old, but there were no significant differences between the different age groups when looking at happiness and physical activity. A statistically significant two-way interaction of sex by age was found on both stress and happiness. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “complete physical, mental and social well-being and not simply the absence of dis- ease or infirmity” (Nutbeam, 1998, p. 349-364). Better and more exact knowledge of what are positive health predictors are important for devel- oping adequate health promotional strategies among adolescents. Even if one recognizes that most young people in the Western world have rela- tively good health, knowledge about the aforementioned crucial factors is sparse. This could reflect the long-lasting focus in research on health threats and possible disease development rather than on a positive ap- 1 Address correspondence to Inger Elise Opheim Moljord, Department of Nidaros DPS, Divi- sion of Psychiatry, St.Olavs University Hospital, Østmarkveien 21, Postboks 1893 Lade, 7440 Trondheim, Norway or e-mail (inger.elise.opheim.moljord@stolav.no). I. E. O. MOLJORD, eT al. 632 proach: how to foresee and initiate positive health outcomes. Positive health can be understood as biological, subjective, and functional mea- sures combined in a focus on health rather than illness (Seligman, 2008). Positive health is closely related to a good quality of life, which in turn is related to well-being and happiness (Fordyce, 1988; Veenhoven, 2003). At the same time, personal happiness is viewed as the most important goal to achieve in life (Fordyce, 1988). Activities or emotions hypothesized as being positive for health de- velopment can also positively influence activities or emotions observed to be negative for health development. Physical activity is such a factor that has been considered positive in this context. In fact, the protective effects of physical activity on several different health aspects have been well doc- umented. It has been shown (Strong, Malina, Blimkie, Daniels, Dishman, Gutin, et al., 2005) that physical activity in adolescence has an important effect on musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health, increases academic performance and self-esteem, and, in addition, reduces symptoms of de- pression and anxiety. It has also been documented (Hallal, Victora, Azeve- do, & Wells, 2006) that physical activity in adolescence provides long-term benefits of bone strength, less risk of breast cancer, and sedentary behav- iours. In particular, swimming and water activities reduce symptoms of asthma and cystic fibrosis. In addition, it has been found that higher fre- quency of physical activity is associated with less depression and anxi- ety and higher self-esteem (Moksnes, Moljord, Espnes, & Byrne, 2010). Others have found that girls report more health complaints than boys, whereas boys report better health (Nesheim & Haugland, 2003). Further, it has been reported that younger children experience better health than older children and that girls experience more stressful events from 12 to 17 years of age (Nesheim & Haugland, 2003; Jose & Ratcliffe, 2004). In an- other study, mean physical activity was shown to decrease significantly from ages 12 to 17 years (Duncan, Duncan, Strycker, & Chaumeton, 2007), which is an interesting finding given this is the same age interval. Sex dif- ferences have been reported on happiness and well-being, where girls re- port being more unhappy and showing lower scores on well-being than boys (Light, 2000; Bergman & Scott, 2001; Jörngården, Wettergen, & von Essen, 2006; Bagøien, Halvari, & Nesheim, 2010). A clear association be- tween age and happiness has been reported related to family situation, where older adolescents are less happy with their family environment (Bergman & Scott, 2001). Boys have been shown to be more physically active than girls in their leisure time (Trost, Pate, Sallis, Freedson, Taylor, Dowda, et al., 2002; Nesheim & Haugland, 2003; Duncan, et al., 2007; Bagøien, et al., 2010). In the aforementioned study by Moksnes, Moljord, et al. (2010), however, no sex differences were found in frequency of leisure time physical activi- STRESS AND HAPPINESS AMONG ADOLESCENTS 633 ty. Fleshner (2005) found that physical activity enhances resistance to the negative effects of stress. However, an extensive literature search identi- fied few studies of the effects of physical activity, stress, and happiness on adolescents’ health. In school children, health complaints have been related to school-associated stress and low frequency of physical activ- ity (Haugland, Wold, & Torsheim, 2003). A negative association has been shown between stress and happiness, in which unhappy pupils report- ed more health symptoms than the rest (Natvig, Albrektsen, & Quarn- strøm, 2003). No sex differences have been shown with respect to happi- ness (Natvig, et al., 2003). Stress is defined here as “environmental events or chronic conditions that objectively threaten the physical and/or psychological health or well- being of individuals of a particular age in a particular society” (Grant, Compas, Stuhlmacher, Thurm, McMahon, & Halpert, 2003, p. 462). Arous- al and stress are experienced at different intensities and durations during adolescence and have different effects on each individual (Grant, et al., 2003). The occurrence of stressful events seems to increase with age dur- ing this period. Researchers have reported that girls appear to be more vulnerable to stress than boys (Rudolph & Hammen, 1999; Brooks, Harris, Thrall, & Woods, 2002; Jose & Ratcliffe, 2004; Hampel & Petermann, 2006; Rose & Rudolph, 2006). Boys seem to experience most stress in relation to external events (Rudolph & Hammen, 1999; Rudolph, 2002), whereas girls seem to be more emotionally sensitive and report more interperson- al stress and strain associated with relationships with parents and friends (Rudolph & Hammen, 1999; Rudolph, 2002; Hampel & Petermann, 2006; Rose & Rudolph, 2006). Humor seems to be a more frequent behavioural response to stress in boys than in girls (Rose & Rudolph, 2006), under- stood to be a coping strategy. Happiness can be understood as an outcome of life, and therefore dis- tinct from preconditions for a good life, such as a livable environment (good living conditions) and good life skills. Good life skills can be defined as “how well we are equipped to cope with the problems of life” (Veen- hoven, 2003). Happiness may also refer to an intense positive emotion and as a general evaluation of life as a whole. Self-reported happiness is strongly correlated with well-being, contentment, pleasure, and satisfac- tion, and an absence of negative affect (Diener, Oishi, & Lucas, 2003; Vit- tersø, Oelman, & Wang, 2007). Frequent positive affect is both fundamen- tal and sufficient for the experience of happiness and for high scores on happiness measures (Diener, Sandvik, & Pavot, 2009). In previous stud- ies, factors such as teachers’ support, satisfaction with school and school experiences, living environment, self-efficacy, and general life satisfaction have been central factors in the perception of life satisfaction and happi- I. E. O. MOLJORD, eT al. 634 ness among adolescents (Natvig, et al., 2003; Gilman, Huebner, Tian, Park, O’Byrne, Schiff, et al., 2008). Furthermore, Natvig, et al. (2003) have shown that happy adolescents experience more support and fewer health prob- lems (including psychosomatic symptoms). Physical and psychological benefits have been associated with physi- cal activity (Lotan, Merrick, & Carmeli, 2005). Physical activity among ad- olescents plays a positive role in association with stress and leads to bet- ter resistance to negative effects of stress (Haugland, et al., 2003; Fleshner, 2005; Penedo & Dahn, 2005). Even walking daily for 30 minutes at a mod- erate intensity, which is considered as small increases in physical activity, has been shown to give substantial beneficial health effects (Anderssen & Strømme, 2001; Haskell, Lee, Pate, Powell, Blair, Franklin, et al., 2007). The present study examined the relations of physical activity, stress, and happiness in a sample of Norwegian adolescents 13 to 18 years old in junior and senior high schools in rural communities. The hypotheses of the present study, based on the literature review, were: (1) adolescents with a low self-reported frequency of physical activity would score sig- nificantly higher on stress and lower on happiness than adolescents with moderate and high self-reported frequency of physical activity; (2a) boys would score significantly higher on mean physical activity than girls, (2b) girls would score significantly higher on mean stress than boys, (2c) boys would score significantly higher on mean happiness than girls, (2d) there would be a significant difference across age groups in physical activity, stress, and happiness; and (3) there would be a significant interaction ef- fect of sex by age by stress on physical activity and happiness. Method Download 306.2 Kb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: 
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