Physical Activity and Psychosocial Characteristics of the Peer Supporters in the PLAN-A Study—A Latent Class Analysis

Ruth Salway, Simon J. Sebire, Byron Tibbitts, Emily Sanderson, Rebecca Kandiyali, Kate Willis, Stephanie J. MacNeill and Russell Jago
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Ruth Salway: Centre for Exercise, Nutrition & Health Sciences, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, 8 Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TZ, UK
Simon J. Sebire: Centre for Exercise, Nutrition & Health Sciences, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, 8 Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TZ, UK
Byron Tibbitts: Centre for Exercise, Nutrition & Health Sciences, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, 8 Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TZ, UK
Emily Sanderson: Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TZ, UK
Rebecca Kandiyali: Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TZ, UK
Kate Willis: Centre for Exercise, Nutrition & Health Sciences, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, 8 Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TZ, UK
Stephanie J. MacNeill: Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TZ, UK
Russell Jago: Centre for Exercise, Nutrition & Health Sciences, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, 8 Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TZ, UK

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-15

Abstract: PLAN-A is a cluster randomised controlled trial of a peer-led physical activity intervention which uses peer supporters to increase the physical activity of 13–14-year-old girls in the UK. This paper uses latent class analysis to identify classes in the whole study population and investigate how those selected as peer supporters in PLAN-A were drawn from different social groups. We identified five classes of girls, based on psychosocial variables (self-esteem, physical activity self-efficacy, motivation, physical activity values among friends and peer support for physical activity (PA) and physical activity behaviour variables (average minutes of weekday MVPA, sedentary time and screen viewing). Peer supporters were similar to the whole study population in terms of overall demographics, but were drawn unequally from the five classes. In addition, there was considerable variation in the distribution of peer supporters between schools. The selection of peer supporters is an integral component of peer-led interventions and should be explored and linked to underlying theory to understand the characteristics of those recruited. However, demographic representativeness is not necessarily the aim, and simple reporting of overall demographic comparisons may mask important differences within subgroups.

Keywords: physical activity; peers; adolescent girls; latent class analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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