Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Oct;27(10):4003-4013.
doi: 10.1590/1413-812320222710.05992022. Epub 2022 Jun 10.

Association between perceived discrimination and physical activity among adolescents

[Article in Portuguese, English]
Carlos Martins Neto  1 , Susana Cararo Confortin  1 , Alice Bianca Santana Lima  1 , Leandro Saldanha Nunes Mouzinho  1 , Bruno Luciano Carneiro Alves de Oliveira  1
Affiliations
Free article

Association between perceived discrimination and physical activity among adolescents

[Article in Portuguese, English]
Carlos Martins Neto et al. Cien Saude Colet. 2022 Oct.
Free article

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Perceived discrimination is a major producer of stress and social trauma and can have negative effects on the physical and mental health of those exposed to it. This study aims to analyze the direct and indirect association between perceived discrimination and physical activity, mediated by common mental disorders in adolescents. This is a cross-sectional study with 2,484 adolescents (aged 18 and 19 years old) from a cohort in São Luís, Maranhão. Structural equation models were used to verify the direct effect of perceived discrimination on physical activity (PA) and its indirect effect mediated by common mental disorders (CMD). The potential of sex to act as an effect-modifying variable was also tested. Discrimination was associated with higher levels of PA in women (SC - Standardized Coefficient direct =0.105, p-value=0.005), and indirectly associated with lower PA via CMT among men (SCindirect =-0.024, p-value=0.017) and women (SCindirect =-0.024, p-value=0.015). Our findings show the association between perceived discrimination and PA in this population of adolescents, attesting that its effects can alter health behaviors and that gender can modify the relation between these variables.

A discriminação percebida é um importante produtor de estresse e trauma social e pode ter efeitos negativos sobre a saúde física e mental das pessoas expostas a ela. Este estudo visa analisar a associação direta e indireta entre discriminação percebida e prática de atividade física, mediada por transtornos mentais comuns de adolescentes. Trata-se de pesquisa transversal, com 2.484 adolescentes (18 e 19 anos) de uma coorte de São Luís, Maranhão. Modelos de equações estruturais foram utilizados para verificar o efeito direto da discriminação percebida sobre a atividade física (AF) e seu efeito indireto mediado pelos Transtornos Mentais Comuns (TMC). O potencial do sexo como variável modificadora de efeitos também foi testado. A discriminação percebida esteve associada a maiores níveis de AF nas mulheres (CP - Coeficiente padronizado direto =0,105, p-valor=0,005), e associada a menor AF por via indireta pelos TMC entre homens (CPindireto =-0,024, p-valor=0,017) e mulheres (CPindireto =-0,024, p-valor=0,015). Os achados mostram que nesta população de adolescentes houve associação entre discriminação percebida e AF, demonstrando que seus efeitos podem alterar comportamentos de saúde e o sexo pode modificar a relação entre essas variáveis.

PubMed Disclaimer