“What If Others Think I Look Like…” The Moderating Role of Social Physique Anxiety and Sex in the Relationship between Physical Activity and Life Satisfaction in Swiss Adolescents

Silvia Meyer (), Christin Lang, Sebastian Ludyga, Alexander Grob and Markus Gerber
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Silvia Meyer: Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Missionsstrasse 62, 4055 Basel, Switzerland
Christin Lang: Department of Sport, Exercise, and Health, University of Basel, Grosse Allee 6, 4052 Basel, Switzerland
Sebastian Ludyga: Department of Sport, Exercise, and Health, University of Basel, Grosse Allee 6, 4052 Basel, Switzerland
Alexander Grob: Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Missionsstrasse 62, 4055 Basel, Switzerland
Markus Gerber: Department of Sport, Exercise, and Health, University of Basel, Grosse Allee 6, 4052 Basel, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Background: Physical activity has been shown to have a positive effect on life satisfaction in adolescents. Despite these benefits, physical activity levels constantly drop during adolescence, suggesting potential interfering factors in this link. Since worries about physical appearance are an important issue at this age, this study aims to examine the relationship between physical activity and life satisfaction in adolescents and explores possible moderating effects of social physique anxiety and sex. Methods: We used data from a longitudinal study with N = 864 vocational students (mean age = 17.87 years, range: 16–25, 43% female) from Switzerland. To test our hypotheses, we used multiple hierarchical regression analyses as well as simple slope analyses. Results: We did not find a significant direct effect of physical activity on life satisfaction. However, we found a significant two-way interaction between physical activity and social physique anxiety. An additional significant three-way interaction occurred, indicating that a positive effect of physical activity on life satisfaction holds only for female adolescents with low social physique anxiety levels. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of developing a healthy relationship with one’s body to fully benefit from physical activity, especially for female adolescents. Taken together, these results reveal important considerations for physical activity educators.

Keywords: life satisfaction; physical activity; social physique anxiety; sex; adolescents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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