Identifying Factors Influencing Attention in Adolescents with a Co-Created Questionnaire: A Citizen Science Approach with Secondary Students in Barcelona, Spain

Florence Gignac, Caterina Solé, Jose Barrera-Gómez, Cecilia Persavento, Èlia Tena, Mónica López-Vicente, Jordi Júlvez, Jordi Sunyer, Digna Couso and Xavier Basagaña
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Florence Gignac: Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Caterina Solé: Departament de Didactica de les Ciencies, Facultat d’Educacio, Edifici G5, Campus de la UAB, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
Jose Barrera-Gómez: Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Cecilia Persavento: Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Èlia Tena: Departament de Didactica de les Ciencies, Facultat d’Educacio, Edifici G5, Campus de la UAB, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
Mónica López-Vicente: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Centre-Sophia Children’s Hospital, P.O. Box 2060, 3000 CB Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Jordi Júlvez: Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), Hospital Universitari Sant Joan de Reus, 43204 Reus, Spain
Jordi Sunyer: Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Digna Couso: Departament de Didactica de les Ciencies, Facultat d’Educacio, Edifici G5, Campus de la UAB, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
Xavier Basagaña: Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), 08003 Barcelona, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-19

Abstract: Studies on factors that can influence attention in healthy adolescents are recent and focus on recurrent topics. Students’ contribution to public health research often revolves around collecting data but rarely around creating data collection instruments. The ATENC!Ó project reunited secondary students and scientists to create a questionnaire including factors that students thought could affect their attention. We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess whether the factors included in this questionnaire had an effect on attention in adolescents. A total of 1667 students (13–16 years old) from 28 schools in Barcelona performed a validated attention test and answered the questionnaire. The response speed consistency (attentiveness), expressed as hit reaction time standard error (HRT-SE, in ms), was used as the primary outcome. Analyses were conducted using conditional linear regression with school as strata, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and further stratified by gender and maternal social class. Some factors showed a negative influence on attention, including taking medication and not reading regularly. We found a significant 14.3% (95% confidence interval: 3.4%, 25.3%) higher median of HRT-SE (increase inattentiveness) among students who reported not having a good relationship with classmates. Students’ input into research is relevant for advancing the knowledge production in public health.

Keywords: adolescents; attention; citizen science; secondary education; questionnaire design; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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