Lifestyle, coping, and psychopathology symptoms in general population adolescents

Adolescence is a critical period for the onset of various psychopathologies, such as anxiety, depression, and psychosis. Yet, the underlying mechanisms in its onset still remain to be fully understood. The aim of this longitudinal cohort study is to unravel the role of physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep in the onset of psychopathology in adolescents. In the general population, physical activity and sleep reduce stress symptoms, increase self-confidence and improve social interactions. The impact and interaction of these lifestyle factors with one another, with affect, and with psychopathological symptoms will be investigated. Further, it will be explored how the social (peers, parents) and physical contexts (whereabouts) will mediate and moderate these associations. Three measurements will be taken at baseline, after 2, and after 4 years in a large cohort (N=2000) of school-attending adolescents in various school settings in whole Flanders, Belgium. All volunteering students aged 12, 14, and 16 years-old will be included. The baseline psychosocial assessment includes measurements of psychosocial factors (peer relationships, psychosocial abilities, social support, attachment), and psychopathological symptoms (psychopathology and non-suicidal selfharm). A wrist-worn multisensory consumer device, a FitBit Charge 2, will be used to track adolescent's physical activity intensity (low, moderate, high), steps (number/day), burned calories (calories/day), sedentary behavior (minutes sitting/day) and minutes asleep (deep, light, and REM-sleep per day) for 6 consecutive days. The innovative Experience Sampling Method (ESM) will be applied by using the MobileQ app to explore the participant's current activity, affect, social context and surroundings during the 6 consecutive days of the measurement period. Participants will receive 10 beeps per day on the mobile they receive at the beginning.

Jaar van publicatie:2022

Toegankelijkheid:Open