School-Level Factors within Comprehensive School Health Associated with the Trajectory of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity over Time: A Longitudinal, Multilevel Analysis in a Large Sample of Grade 9 and 10 Students in Canada

Melissa Pirrie, Valerie Carson, Joel A. Dubin and Scott T. Leatherdale
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Melissa Pirrie: School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Valerie Carson: Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H9, Canada
Joel A. Dubin: School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Scott T. Leatherdale: School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-16

Abstract: (1) The majority of Canadian youth are insufficiently active, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) decreases substantially during secondary school. School factors within the comprehensive school health (CSH) framework may help attenuate this decline. This study aimed to examine how youth MVPA changes over a three-year period and evaluate the school characteristics associated with preventing the decline in MVPA over time, guided by the CSH framework. (2) This study uses COMPASS survey data from 78 secondary schools in Ontario and Alberta that participated in Year 2 (2013/14), Year 3 (2014/15), and Year 4 (2015/16), and 17,661 students attending these schools. Multilevel (linear mixed effects) models were used to determine the association between school-level factors and student MVPA (weekly minutes) over time, stratified by gender. (3) Both male and female students had a significant decline in MVPA across the 3 years, with a greater decrease observed among female students. Within the CSH framework, the school’s social environment, partnerships, and policies were associated with student MVPA over time, however the specific school factors and directions of associations varied by gender. (4) School-based interventions (e.g., public health partnerships) may help avoid the decline in MVPA observed in this critical period and support student health.

Keywords: gender; secondary school; framework; linear mixed effects model (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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