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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2012 Mar-Apr;26(4):e116-25.
doi: 10.4278/ajhp.101215-QUAN-400.

Mediating effects of group cohesion on physical activity and diet in women of color: health is power

Rebecca E Lee  1 , Daniel P O'Connor, Renae Smith-Ray, Scherezade K Mama, Ashley V Medina, Jacqueline Y Reese-Smith, Jorge A Banda, Charles S Layne, Marcella Brosnan, Catherine Cubbin, Tracy McMillan, Paul A Estabrooks
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Mediating effects of group cohesion on physical activity and diet in women of color: health is power

Rebecca E Lee et al. Am J Health Promot. 2012 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the effects and mediating factors of a physical activity (PA) or vegetable and fruit (VF) group cohesion intervention.

Design: Longitudinal design.

Setting: Harris County and Travis County, Texas.

Participants: Community-dwelling African-American and Hispanic or Latina women.

Intervention: Three hundred ten women were randomized to a PA (n = 204) or VF (n = 106) intervention group. Women met in groups six times over the course of 6 months and were exposed to a group cohesion intervention to promote walking or to increase VF consumption.

Measures: Women completed the International PA Questionnaire, National Cancer Institute VF and fat screeners, PA Group Environment Questionnaire, and 7-day accelerometer protocol at baseline and post-intervention.

Analyses: The direct and mediated effects of the intervention on outcomes were evaluated using a mediational chain model, controlling for baseline values and covariates using path analysis.

Results: Women were middle aged (mean = 44.4 years) and overweight or obese (mean body mass index = 34.0 kg/m(2)). PA increased and fat consumption decreased for both groups, whereas VF consumption increased for women in VF group only (all p < .05). Increased task cohesion led to hypothesized increases in psychosocial factors in the PA group but not to behavioral changes.

Conclusions: Group cohesion interventions may have psychological and physical health benefits for African-American and Hispanic or Latina women, but refinement of measures and intervention delivery is needed to determine whether hypothesized mediational pathways are valid.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Mediational Chain Model
(a) Direct effect of time 1 variables on time 2 variables. (b) Direct effects plus indirect effects of Time 1 and Time 2 variables on Time 2 mediators. (c) Direct and indirect effects from (b) plus indirect effects of Time 1 and Time 2 variables on Time 2 outcomes. (d) Confirmed mediational relationships of Time 1 and Time 2 variables on Time 2 outcomes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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