Associations between sedentary behavior and negative emotions in adolescents during home confinement: Mediating role of social support and sleep quality

Liye Zou; Ting Wang; Fabian Herold; Sebastian Ludyga; Weina Liu; Yanjie Zhang; Sean Healy; Zhihao Zhang; Jin Kuang; Alyx Taylor; Arthur F Kramer; Sitong Chen; Mark S Tremblay; M Mahbub Hossain

doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2022.100337

Associations between sedentary behavior and negative emotions in adolescents during home confinement: Mediating role of social support and sleep quality

Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2023 Jan-Apr;23(1):100337. doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2022.100337. Epub 2022 Sep 22.

Authors

Liye Zou^{1

2}, Ting Wang³, Fabian Herold³, Sebastian Ludyga⁴, Weina Liu¹, Yanjie Zhang⁵, Sean Healy⁶, Zhihao Zhang², Jin Kuang², Alyx Taylor⁷, Arthur F Kramer^{8

9}, Sitong Chen¹⁰, Mark S Tremblay¹¹, M Mahbub Hossain^{12

13}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of Ministry of Education, College of Physical Education & Health, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
² Body-Brian-Mind Laboratory; Shenzhen Humanities & Social Sciences Key Research Bases of the Center for Mental Health, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, 518060, China.
³ Research Group Degenerative and Chronic Diseases, Movement, Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam.
⁴ Department of Sport, Exercise & Health, University of Basel, Grosse Allee 6, 4052 Basel, Switzerland.
⁵ Physical Education Unit, School of Humanities and Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518172, China.
⁶ School of Nursing, Psychotherapy, and Community Health, Dublin City University, Ireland.
⁷ School of Rehabilitation, Sport and Psychology, AECC University College, Bournemouth, BH5 2DF, UK.
⁸ Center for Cognitive & Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, USA.
⁹ Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, Illinois, USA.
¹⁰ Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne 8001, Australia.
¹¹ Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute and Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada, K1H 8L1.
¹² Department of Decision and Information Sciences, C.T. Bauer College of Business, University of Houston, TX 77204, USA.
¹³ Department of Health Systems and Population Health Sciences, Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine, University of Houston, TX 77204, USA.

Abstract

Background: Prolonged periods of sedentary behaviour, for instance, engendered by home confinement in Shenzhen city, has led to negative mental health consequences, especially in adolescents. Previous research suggests, in general, that sedentary behavior can increase negative emotions. However, the specific mechanism driving the relationship between sedentary behavior and negative emotions is still relatively unclear. Social support and sleep quality might partly explain the effect of sedentary behavior on negative emotions. Thus, the current study aimed to examine the associations between sedentary behavior and negative emotions, and to investigate if social support and sleep quality mediate such a relationship.

Method: During home confinement due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant outbreak, 1179 middle and high school students in Shenzhen were invited to voluntarily complete an e-questionnaire, including the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF), the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data from 1065 participants were included in the analysis.

Results: We observed significant sex-related and demografic-related differences in emotional (e.g., anxiety, stress and social support) and other outcome variables (e.g., sitting duration and PSQI score). Furthermore, sedentary behavior, social support, and sleep quality were associated with negative emotions (p < .01), even after controlling for sex, age, only-child case, body mass index, and metabolic equivalent level. In addition, social support and sleep quality partially mediated the association between sedentary behavior and negative emotions.

Conclusion: The findings of the current study suggest that social support and sleep quality partially mediate the relationship between sedentary behavior and negative emotions in middle and high school students during home confinement in Shenzhen city.

Keywords: Adolescents; Home confinement; Negative emotions; Sedentary behavior; Sleep quality; Social support.