Examining Daily Associations of Nature Exposure, Body Appreciation, and Physical Activity Among Adolescents

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dc.contributor.advisorBudd, Elizabeth
dc.contributor.authorCastro, Esmeralda
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-07T21:50:42Z
dc.date.available2024-08-07T21:50:42Z
dc.date.issued2024-08-07
dc.description.abstractSubstantial evidence supports engaging in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) for myriad health benefits, yet most adolescents are not active enough to maximize the benefits. Especially among girls, adolescence is marked by reductions in MVPA and body appreciation, both linked to poor physical and mental and health outcomes. There are mixed findings on how nature exposure (NE) is related to MVPA and body appreciation. Most of these NE studies were conducted among adults and all have measured NE by self-report or objective proxies (e.g., quantity of vegetation in an area), which are vulnerable to bias and inaccuracy. Objectives of the current study among adolescents were to determine 1) the daily associations among MVPA, body appreciation, and NE using an innovative mobile application that measures objective individual-level indicators of time spent in nature, 2) whether and how gender moderates these associations, and 3) if body appreciation indirectly affects the relationship between NE and MVPA. In summer 2023, a community sample of Oregon adolescents participated in a prospective 7-day study. Participants wore ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers to measure MVPA, enabled the phone application “NatureDose™” to measure NE, and answered the short form 3-item Body Appreciation Scale-2 daily. Adjusting for covariates, multilevel linear regressions and moderation analyses, and indirect pathway analyses were conducted. Participants (N = 209; M = 14.39 y/o ± 1.66; 50.23% cisgender girls; 80.19% White) were highly active (M = 281.9 ± 18.54 MVPA min/day), exposed to nature (M = 95.2 ± 66.6 min/day), and reported moderately high body appreciation (M = 3.99 ± 0.06 per day). Daily NE, not body appreciation, was significantly and positively associated with daily MVPA (γ10 = 10.26, p < .001). Gender did not moderate the daily associations. Body appreciation did not indirectly affect the relationship between NE and MVPA. This is the first study among adolescents to use an objective, individual-level measure of NE and confirm the previously identified positive link between NE and MVPA in this age group. Replication in more diverse adolescent samples is a next step. Findings support interventions that integrate nature and MVPA to promote adolescent health.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/29771
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregon
dc.rightsAll Rights Reserved.
dc.subjectadolescentsen_US
dc.subjectbody appreciationen_US
dc.subjectnatureen_US
dc.subjectphysical activityen_US
dc.titleExamining Daily Associations of Nature Exposure, Body Appreciation, and Physical Activity Among Adolescents
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
thesis.degree.disciplineDepartment of Counseling Psychology and Human Services
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Oregon
thesis.degree.leveldoctoral
thesis.degree.namePh.D.

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